A Scribe's Work
by Cody the Kirby
Summary: Ghostwriter is Celestia's personal scribe, though he has doubts about his own skills. Ponies may respect his position, but because of Ghostwriters odd quirks, no pony respects the pony behind it and he's sick of it. When Celestia sends him to Ponyville to transcribe the events involving the Elements of Harmony, Ghost sees it as a chance for a fresh start. All chapters revised.
1. Scribes Are Weird Part 1

A Scribe's Work: Scribes are Weird

Part one

The young robed unicorn looked at the town with a sense of apprehension and dread, the calm day and quiet, serene path doing nothing to improve his mood.

"What the hay am I doing here?" he asked with a sigh.

A fox poked his head out from under the unicorn's robes . "You forgot, Ghost? The Princess wanted—"

"I know why we're here, Flare," Ghostwriter said, rolling his eyes. "It was a rhetorical question."

"Oh." Flare paused. "What's a rhetorical question?"

"It's a question not meant to be answered." He pushed up the pince-nez glasses that sat perched on the end of his pale gray snout. _I'd rather be asleep in my bed. _He shook his head, feeling his deep blue robes slide against his shaggy brown mane.

Ghost groaned. "Why me?" He frowned, his mind recalling his experience this morning. "Oh... right... and I thought today was going to be normal."

* * *

Ghost lay on his bed, reading. He yawned, looking up from his book to look at the two-tailed fox beside him. His room was large and filled with all manner of writing implements, with the back wall being an entire bookshelf filled with binders, notebooks, and scrolls. While his room was large, it was not all that well furnished. A bed was against the left wall, just under the room's only window, and at the base of which sat a file cabinet. There was also a closet in the right wall, which held his two robes. His walls were bare, save for the painted picture of Ghost himself sitting at a desk, hard at work that hung by the door. The floor was dirty with balled up papers, full of ideas Ghost had abandoned, and several broken quills.

Ghost looked to the desk that sat against his right wall, next to the closet. _I'm glad I don't have too much work today. _

Ghostwriter worked as a scribe serving directly under the Princess. It was his job to record all historical events for the future generations. There were other roles he served, but that was Ghost's favorite part of the job. To him, it was a humble position, not worthy of any praise, mostly because someone needed to do it regardless.

There was a knock at his door. Ghost got up and put his front legs out while arching his back, like a cat waking up. Ghost yawned as he looked at the sunlight streaming through his window. "I need better sleeping habits," he grumbled. "I'm practically nocturnal."

Ghost walked over and opened his door to see Princess Celestia standing on the other side. The Princess smiled at him. His eyes widened and he threw a panicked glance into his room.

"Uh, Princess, can you give me a sec?" Ghost asked while closing the door just enough so she couldn't see in. He smiled nervously. "There is something I, uh, have to deal with first." Without another word he closed the door and ran to Flare, tripping over some discarded books.

Ghost nudged Flare. "Flare, I need an illusion, fast."

Flare yawned. He spoke while shaking his head to clear out his sleeping brain. "What kind?"

"Make the room look clean," Ghost said, looking around as he bounced nervously. "You can't have a princess in," He waved a hoof at the room, "this!"

"Aw," Flare said, standing. "I thought it was going to be exciting."

"Hurry up, Flare! The Princess is right outside the door," Ghost said fiercely, throwing a glance to the door.

"Okay, okay." Flare closed his eyes. Suddenly, the paper wads and discarded quills wavered out of sight. Once they were gone, Ghost let out a breath of relief.

"Thanks, Flare!"

Ghost trotted to the door, once again opening it to the Princess. "Princess Celestia, I apologize for the wait. There must be things more important to you than visiting a simple scribe. Come in."

"Please, Ghostwriter. Have more pride in your skill," The Princess said as Ghost let her in. A look of concern made its way to her face. "I chose you for a reason."

"I was the only applicant," Ghost said softly and with a small frown.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Ghost said, sitting on the floor. He noticed he had sat on an invisible paper wad, but stayed his ground lest she catch on. "Would you like a seat?"

"I am fine," Celestia said, sitting on the floor as well.

"To what do I owe this early morning visit?" Ghost yawned. "Excuse me."

The Princess smiled while putting a hoof to her mouth as she giggled. "Still a pony of the night, I see."

"Reading and writing in moonlight is my favorite activity," he said, turning to stare at the dawn through this window. "Much calmer than the day."

Ghost's eyes widened. He quickly turned back to the Princess. "But I mean no disrespect, Princess!"

Celestia chuckled. "None taken, Ghostwriter. I am sure my dear sister would be happy to hear that."

She then spoke in a more serious tone. "I am here to ask how your work is going."

Ghost put a hoof to his chin before looking over at his desk. "I've been able to get through a large portion of the backlog," Ghost said.

Ghost was the first scribe employed by the Princess in five years, as such there was a lot of excess work that needed to be done. He had been able to plow through it in the year and a half he had worked there, mostly through working all night and taking two hour naps through out the day. However, because of this, Ghost barely left his room. If he did, it was to attend a party, meeting, or at the Princess' behest. It was only recently that his workload had thinned to the point he could enjoy other pursuits.

Ghost looked back at the Princess. "What's left is mostly busy work." He shrugged. "A few wanted posters," He stamped his hoof and looked back at his desk. "I finished Phantom's poster by the way." Ghost levitated a scroll from his desk and handed it to Celestia.

Celestia opened the scroll. Her eyes scanned the paper before she nodded and rolled it up again. She turned her attention back to Ghost while setting the scroll at her side.

"Good," She said with a frown. "Reports say that Phantom will be coming here."

"Do you know what he's after?" Ghost asked curiously.

The Princess shook her head. "No, but do not worry about it, Ghostwriter." She smiled at him. "You said you had worked through most of the back log, right?"

Ghost nodded.

"So of what is left, there is nothing that you would need to be here for?" the Princess asked.

Ghost raised an eyebrow. "No..."

"Than I have a task of utmost importance for you," Celestia said pointing at him. " No doubt, you have heard of the events with Discord and Nightmare Moon three years ago."

"How could I not?"

"After those events, I had wanted them to be recorded, but did not have a scribe in my employ at the time. While the events were still documented for historical archives, I had wanted to get eye witness accounts of the mares involved, yet, sadly could not trust this task upon just anypony." Celestia smiled. "But there is a scribe in my employ again."

_Uh oh,_ Ghost thought.

"As my best scribe—"

"Uh... I'm... your only scribe, ma'am," Ghost said, staring at the floor while scuffing it with his hoof.

"Confidence, Ghostwriter," Celestia chided him. "As my scribe, I would like you to conduct the interviews and condense all the information into a book."

Ghost sighed, shaking his head. _Should have seen _that _coming._

"So, are you inviting them to the castle?" he asked, looking back up at the Princess.

"No. My student Twilight Sparkle must stay in Ponyville to continue her research," the Princess said, shaking her head. "Therefore, I am sending you to Ponyville to conduct the interviews."

Ghost's eyes widened. "But that means I have to leave the palace!" he exclaimed as he shot up.

Celestia nodded, smiling slightly at Ghost's actions. "Correct. I have contacted Twilight—you remember her, right?"

Ghost nodded and put a hoof to his chin. "Yes... we were never formally introduced, but I do remember her."

Celestia nodded. "I have contacted Twilight Sparkle and informed her that you will be staying with her and her dragon, Spike, in the Ponyville library."

"But surely there is somepony more qualified?" he asked, his eyes shifting nervously between the Princess and the floor.

"You are the only scribe, Ghostwriter," she said with a smirk.

"Foxtrot," Ghost hissed under his breath.

Celestia sat up turning around to the door. She spoke, looking at Ghost over her shoulder. "Then it is settled. You shall leave in a few hours. Get some sleep, Ghostwriter. By the way..." She smiled. "Flare's illusions are getting better."

Ghost eyes widened again. "But, how?"

Celestia lifted her hoof, the sound of crinkled paper filling Ghost ears.

Ghost grinned and shook his head. "That's what I get for trying to fool you."

* * *

After an hour of flight by chariot, he was there, on a dirt path, outside of Ponyville. He had asked to be dropped off outside of the town, so as not to draw attention.

Ghost sighed. "I'm not cut out for this."

Flare jumped out of his robes. His small form began to waver and re-form, shaping itself into a near identical copy of Princess Celestia save for a single fox tail.

"Confidence, Ghostwriter," he said, matching her voice in pitch and tone.

Ghost put on a small smile. "Pretty good, but you need bigger wings."

Flare looked to his wings and re-formed them. "This better?"

"Perfect," Ghost laughed. His spirit lifted a little, before sinking as doubt came to the front of his mind. Ghost hung his head, a small frown on his face.

Flare frowned. He shifted back to normal before putting his paws against Ghost leg. He tried to look him in the eyes. "Ghost, what's wrong?" Flare whined. "I thought you would like this. Ponyville can't be worse than Canterlot."

Ghost turned to the town, his eyes scanning it. "It doesn't have to be worse. All it needs to do is be the same as that 'City of Fakers'." He sighed. "What would be the point of that? Going from one place that thinks I'm odd to another?"

Flare darted in front of him. "But you'll never know if it's pointless if you don't try it."

Ghost rolled his eyes. "Who's the idiot that said that?"

"You, when I wouldn't eat spinach," Flare said, sitting down and cocking his head to the side in confusion.

Ghost paused before letting out a chuckle and lowering to Flare's level. "Never claimed to be smart. Who would have thought that would come back to haunt me."

Ghost tussled Flare's hair causing the young fox to giggle.

"Can we have cake after we move in?" Flare asked as he ran a paw across his head to fix his fur.

"We'll see about cake," Ghost said, with a nod. Ghost stood up, a small smile on his face. "Maybe you're right, Flare. This could be good for me. It's a fresh start, a clean slate where good impressions can be made."

His smile fell, becoming a frown. "Or the wrong impressions, and I spend my stay as a social outcast."

Ghost let out a frustrated groan before shaking his head and glaring at the town in the distance. "Well, who cares what they think? I'm here to do a job for the Princess. I have a rare chance to interview the wielders of the Elements of Harmony." Ghost stamped his hoof and Flare jumped on his back. " It's my job as the Princess' scribe to record this." Ghost face split into a grin. "I'm going to be talking to six figures of historical significance. This is why I love my job. This task has been given to me and while there may be better scribes that have come before me, I'll do it all the same!" He stamped his hoof again.

Ghost walked forward, then stopped. "Flare, you know all that confidence I had?"

"Yeah," Flare said.

"It's gone again."

Flare groaned and shook his head.

* * *

Ghostwriter looked around nervously.

"Would be nice if I had been told where the library was."

After much sulking, Ghost had finally worked up the courage to walk into town. He was distinctly aware of curious stares from other ponies, something he was less than fond of.

"You were told where it was," Flare said telepathically, as he hid in Ghost's robes, "but you were too nervous to listen."

"Not like you were paying attention either," Ghost grumbled, his head down as he kept walking.

"You're talking out loud," Flare said in Ghost's mind. "Wasn't talking to yourself bad in Canterlot?"

"Who cares," Ghost hissed, glaring at the ground. "I just want to find the library and get out of ponies' sig— Gah!"

Ghost stopped, his path obstructed by an earth pony. The mare had a pink body and curly pink mane and tail. She was staring at him with large, blue, questioning eyes.

"Uh, hi," Ghost said, slightly unnerved.

The mare said nothing, seemingly frozen in place.

Ghost's eyes shifted and he took a step back from the pony. "Uh, I'm kinda new here. Any chance you can tell me where the library is?"

The pink pony screamed and ran in the opposite direction.

Flare popped out of Ghost's robes. He turned his head in confusion. "Well, that was weird."

Ghost smiled slightly, shaking his head. "If that's a norm, I might actually fit in here."

The two chuckled before Ghost's nervousness returned. He looked around, trying to get his bearings in the unfamiliar town. What he could remember told him that the Book and Branches Library was somewhere in the town square and a quick glance confirmed that was were he was, so he must be pretty close. Ghost scanned the buildings lining the street. He knew that the library was a bit of an oddity in town, as it was located inside a living tree.

"Oh, there it is," Ghost said, spotting the tree that housed the library.

Ghost trotted over to the door and lifted a hoof gulping.

"Just need to knock." He knocked on the door.

He waited. Nothing. Frowning, he knocked again.

Flare spoke up while crawling out of Ghost's robes. "It _is_ a library, maybe we should just go in."

Ghost shook his head. "It's also Miss Sparkle's house, so we should not enter without her permission." Ghost wasn't sure how to proceed. His sister had taught him to never enter someplace without permission except for places like public libraries, but this was both somepony's house and a public library. Where did he draw the line?

Ghost raised an eye while putting a hoof to his chin. "Strange, though. The Princess said Twilight Sparkle would be expecting us."

Ghost could feel the staring eyes. He wanted nothing more than to escape them. Flare picked up on Ghost's tension. His muscles were tight, his eyes were shifty, and he was trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Aren't you going to be living here too? That gives you the right to enter."

Ghost shook his head again. "Doesn't work like that." Ghost looked around. "But… maybe… we should head inside."

Ghost closed his eyes and opened the door. "Hello?" he called as he entered. "Miss Sparkle?"

Flare hopped out of Ghost robes and sniffed around.

"No one's here, Ghost," Flare said, his nose in the air. "It definitely smells like a pony lives here. Also, some kinda reptile."

"She does live with a dragon," Ghost said before he opened his eyes and smiled. "Now this," he said, as his face lit up with joy at the sight of the many shelves and books. "This is living in style."

"For you, maybe," Flare grumbled, turning away from Ghostwriter.

"This is fox-trotting awesome," Ghost said, as he started dashing around, pulling out all sorts of books. "The Canterlot library may be bigger and have more books, but this is a decent collection—and to actually live in a library?"

Unfortunately, in his mad dash, he dropped one of the books and subsequently tripped on it.

Ghost groaned, as he heard Flare trying to stifle his laughter.

"Foxtrot," Ghostwriter cursed. When he tripped, Ghost had attempted to roll. Somehow, his horn had become stuck in the floor. Ghost could only guess that his horn had pierced a knothole or a weak spot. He maneuvered himself off of his back to a squatting position, his neck stretched to the floor. He gave it a tug, grunting as his horn stayed stuck. "Double Foxtrot!"

Flare couldn't hold his laughter anymore and collapsed in mirth. He rolled on his back as the laughter flowed out of him,.

"Yeah, yeah," Ghost said, glaring at the floor while still trying to pull. "Laugh it up, fox. Just for that, no cake."

Flare froze. "But, but..." Flare said, struggling.

Ghostwriter continued his endeavor, his hooves sliding on the floor as he pulled. "If you want to redeem yourself, go find Twilight Sparkle and get me out of this."

Flare quickly nodded and moved towards the door, but quickly turned around and cocked his head to the side. "What does she look like?"

Ghost sighed in annoyance as he stopped pulling. "We met her before. You know: unicorn, pale purple body, dark purple mane and tail with pink strip, purple eyes, might be in the company of a young dragon."

"Oh, right," Flare said nodding as his mind was able to recall the encounter. "The one you had a crush on."

Ghost continued struggling. "That was a vicious rumor," he grunted. "I just said that she looked cute. Make any positive comment about a mare and ponies are like 'Oh you like her, you should ask her out.'"

"Right…" Flare said skeptically.

"Just go find her, fur ball."

* * *

The unicorn in question, with her assistant, Spike, sitting on her back, was currently walking back to her home. She had just been to Rarity's to help her with a modeling problem which had left her running behind schedule.

"I swear, Spike, Rarity could have asked anypony else," she said, rolling her eyes. Upon not hearing a reply, she stopped and turned to her dragon friend, who's eyes were glazed over as he stared at the sky. "Spike!"

"Huh, what?" Spike said, shaking his head to clear out the daydream.

"Another fantasy about Rarity?" Twilight asked with a roll of her eyes. She shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

Spike blushed, laughing nervously and scratching the back of his head.

"Anyways, we have to hurry and spruce up the library, before our guest arrives. We're already behind," Twilight said, turning around and continuing to walk.

"Who exactly is this big-shot guest of ours?" Spike asked as he crossed his arms.

"He's Princess Celestia's personal scribe. He reports directly to her," Twilight said, her pace increasing.

"Why is he so important?" Spike asked, uncrossing his arms.

"As a scribe serving under Celestia, he has many important duties," Twilight said in a lecturing tone, as she sped up a little more. "He works on important treaties, takes the minutes at certain meetings, and most importantly, Celestia's scribe acts as a historian and records all noteworthy events."

"Sounds like a big job," Spike said, as he steadied himself from Twilight's increased gait.

"It is, Spike. And I want to make sure that his stay in Ponyville is perfect," Twilight said with determination in her eyes as she stared straight ahead. "So let's go, before he get—"

Twilight stopped, nearly throwing Spike off, as they passed a two-tailed fox sniffing the ground.

"You don't see that every day," Spike said with a raised brow while scratching his head.

_That fox seems familiar, _Twilight thought as her eyes followed it. _It's also got two tails, a genetic mutation, maybe?_ She raised an eyebrow. "What's a fox doing in Ponyville anyway?"

The fox's ears swiviled, picking up Twilight's voice. It frowned, turning to her with a glare as it sat back on its haunches and crossed it's paws. "I'll have you know, I'm a kitsune. I'm five times cooler than a normal fox," he said with a boyish voice.

Twilight eyes widened as she jumped back, accidentally bucking Spike off her back. "It talks!"

The kitsune huffed. "Yes, I talk. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

The twin-tail put its nose to the ground again. "Oh no, I lost the scent." He shook his head. "It's okay. I'll just double back a bit."

Twilight watched the peculiar animal run back a ways. Putting its nose to the ground, it followed Twilight's hoof steps until he bumped into her leg. He sniffed it and looked up at her.

"Miss Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yes?"

"Perfect," the fox said, smiling. "I get my cake now."

"Ehr, I'm sorry, what?" Twilight asked, her brow raised.

"My friend needs your help," the fox said as he sat in front them. "See, my name's Flare. I work as an assistant to Ghostwriter, the Princess' scribe."

"Wait, he's here? Where?" Twilight asked, looking around for any new ponies walking the square.

"Oh, he got his horn stuck in the floorboards at the library. He sent me to find you," Flare said, his head motioning in the direction of the library.

Spike tried to hold in a chuckle as he stood up.

"Well, this is off to a great start." Twilight sighed. "Although, the name Ghostwriter sounds familiar."

* * *

The two chased Flare back to the library, the young fox in a hurry to help his friend. As they entered, Twilight could hear somepony speaking.

"Alright, instead of waiting for Miss Sparkle, ideally, I want to get out before they arrive; therefore preserving my dignity and blank-slate status. Maybe, if I twist my neck like this— ow, ow, not working. Gah! Great, now I can add neck injury to the list of all the things that are going wrong with this."

Twilight peered into the library, noticing the hunched-over stallion.

"Maybe if I stand on my head, I can do a little bit of reading before they get here. Flare will probably walk straight past them." The stallion propped himself on his head only for his robes to slide down, covering his face. He sighed. "Well, there goes any dignity I might have had left."

Twilight quickly pulled the pony out of the hole using levitation and a spell that temporarily widened the hole, before righting him. Flare ran up to the slightly dazed unicorn.

"I got her, Ghost! Do I get cake now?"

"Later, Flare," Ghost said shaking his head before patting the kitsune and straightening his robes and glasses. "Miss Sparkle-"

"Just Twilight, please."

"Miss Twilight."

Twilight sighed.

"I thank you for getting me out of that situation," Ghost said with a blush while staring at the floor. "However, I apologize for coming in while you were away."

Twilight giggled. "It is a library. I keep my things in the back, so this hardly counts as an intrusion."

"Right." Ghost sighed. "This is off to a flying start," he said, under his breath.

"Anyway, I remember you, now. You were at one of Princess Celestia's parties, two years ago," Twilight said as she got a good look at Ghost.

"Oh," started Spike, stroking his chin. "That pony that sat next to Celestia."

"If I remember correctly," Twilight said, as she put a hoof to her chin, "it was actually a party to celebrate you becoming the royal scribe."

Ghost nodded, a small, nervous smile on his face. "I've only been the royal scribe for a year and half."

"And yet you're the Princess' best scribe?" Spike asked, looking him over with a raised eye.

"Well, actually, I'm her _only_ scribe," Ghost said, as he shrugged, his face indifferent. "I'm the first scribe hired after a five year vacancy."

"Why?" Spike asked.

"After the former scribe retired, there was nopony else to take the position and the former scribe was too old to be taken out of retirement," Twilight explained, turning her attention to Spike.

"I got the position by virtue of being the only applicant," Ghost said, shrugging as he looked at the dragon. "It's not exactly a sought-out position."

Flare frowned and pushed against Ghost's leg. "Ghost, you know it was more than that."

"I think Flare has a point," Twilight said, her eyebrow raised. "The Princess wouldn't fill a position simply to fill it."

"So I've been told. Doesn't help that the position is glorified for some reason," Ghost said with a shrug and a sigh. He shook his head. "Well, anyway, we were never formally introduced so..." He sat up, the nervous smile returning. "My name is Ghostwriter, the royal scribe to Princess Celestia." He pointed to Flare. "And you've already met my buddy, Flare."

Flare smiled. "Hi."

Twilight grinned. The stallion was fidgety and nervous. She had felt the same when she first came to Ponyville, albeit nervous for an entirely different reason. The least she could do was make the transition softer for him.

She held out her hoof. "Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia, and your guide and host in Ponyville."

"A pleasure," Ghost said as he shook her hoof.

"And this is my assistant, Spike," Twilight said, pointing to her partner.

"Hi," Spike said, waving.

"So let's get you settled in, then. I'll give you the tour," Twilight said, leading Ghost into the basement.

* * *

"So how long will you be in Ponyville, Ghostwriter?" Twilight asked, her tone pleasant and curious.

The group, which consisted of Twilight, Ghostwriter and Flare, were walking along one of the dirt paths. Spike had stayed at the library to finish some chores. Ghost was thankful there were less ponies to stare at him.

"Just call me Ghost," he said, looking around. "And I'm not sure. It depends on how long it takes to get all the interviews done. After that, I need to sort out what goes into the book and then write the draft." Ghost shrugged. "Given that I've never done this before, it could take a while." Ghost raised an eye. "I'm not sure why the Princess wants me to do the interviews. There are better ponies for the job."

Flare jumped in front of their path and morphed into Mini-Celestia. "Please, Ghostwriter," the fox-tailed Princess said. "Have more confidence in your skills. I chose you for a reason."

"Again, only applicant, and if you're going to keep using that impression, you need to get the wings right," Ghost said with a frown.

Twilight eyes widened. As Flare returned to his normal form, she spoke.

"What was that? I've heard of creatures that could change form, but never one like a fox," Twilight asked warily, as she took a step back from Flare.

Ghost shook his head and smiled. "Well, as he has no doubt already told you," he said as Flare jumped on his back. "He's a kitsune."

Flare pushed Ghost's head down and put a paw to his chest. "We're five times cooler than foxes."

Ghost flipped his head back. Flare rolled down his back.

"Kitsunes," Twilight said, intrigued. She put a hoof to her chin. "It sounds familiar, but I can't place it."

"Not surprised," Ghost said, shrugging. "They're mostly a myth in Neighpon, a land way down in the south east, past Equestria. Flare is the first one anypony's ever seen."

"That explains where I heard the name. They were in that book of Neighponese mythology," Twilight said. "I don't put much stock in myths, though."

"I do," Ghost said with a smile. "My specialty lies in history, myths, legends, and lore." Ghost's eyes lit up and he looked to the sky. "I don't take any myth at face value. Every one has a kernel of truth that it's founded on. To me, a myth is just an unsolved mystery."

Ghost shook his head. "But back on topic." He pushed his glasses up. "Kitsunes are fox demons."

"Demons?" Twilight looked cautiously at the young fox, who was currently trying to catch one of his tails.

"Kitsune aren't evil or malicious by nature. They're tricksters. They use illusions and shape shifting to fool others and can also use this sort of ethereal flame called fox-fire. Kitsunes can also form telepathic bonds by tasting the blood of a pony." Ghost paused, thinking. "Oh, if you don't want to be pranked, just tell me. Flare won't pull any tricks on ponies I declare off limits."

Twilight smiled. "It's okay. I can take a joke, though Fluttershy is kind of sensitive," she said.

Ghost nodded. While he didn't know who Fluttershy was, it was better to stop Flare before he caused trouble. "Flare." Flare looked to Ghost. "No pranks until we know who can take it."

Flare nodded, then returned to chasing his tails, the task taking priority in his mind.

"If you're worried about it, why let him prank at all?"

Ghost frowned. "If I don't let him prank, he chews up my paper and quills." He looked around again. "So where are we headed?"

"A place right outside of town called Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight said, taking the lead again. "I promised my friend that I would help her out real quick, so I figured you could meet her."

"Meeting new ponies…" Ghost said with a slight frown. "That would be cool."

* * *

Ghost looked at the orchard, eyes wide in amazement. "So many trees. So many apples. It's like an ocean."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Twilight giggled. "My friend Applejack and her family run this orchard. Speaking of which, where is she?"

"Oh Twilight, there ya are."

Twilight turned to the orange pony that rushed up. Her face had white freckles and she wore a cowboy hat over her blond hair. Her mane, along with her tail, were tied at the ends, but looked a little frazzled and Ghost could see worry in her eyes. She seemed very focused and she barely noticed Ghost.

"Applejack, you okay?" Twilight said, noticing her slightly disheveled look. She frowned "You're not overworking yourself again, are you?"

Applejack shook her head. "No. I learned my lesson, but if I don't figure this out soon, there won't be a need to overwork."

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"There's something up with the trees," Applejack said, motioning farther into the orchard. "I ain't ever seen it before, so I thought maybe you could help."

"Show me."

As the two galloped away, Ghost decided to follow them for curiosity's sake and because he didn't want to be left alone.

* * *

The tree Applejack led them to looked horrible. Its bark was black and all along its trunk were swollen knots. Its branches hung low and the apples were a dull red. The trees around it didn't look much better.

Twilight looked at the tree thoughtfully. "This requires more research," she said, walking closer to it.

Ghost was also looking at the tree some distance behind the two. With lips pursed in thought, he pulled a book out of his bag, which he always carried.

"You think you can help, Ghost?" Flare asked.

"Maybe." Ghost set the book on the ground and flipped it open. "Nope." He flipped to another page. "Not that one either," he said, flipping the page again. "That definitely won't help."

"Aww, I like that one," Flare whined.

Ghost rolled his eyes and continued his search. "Perfect." Finding what he wanted, he reached into his bag and brought out a blank piece of parchment. The paper glittered slightly when the sun hit it. Ghost looked into his bag again, but soon frowned. "Foxtrot, I forgot a quill. Hmm..." Ghost stamped his hoof and smiled before turning to Flare. "Flare, quill."

"I didn't hear the magic words," The twin-tail responded in a sing song voice, tilting his head up.

"Razza matazz."

"Aww, I prefer Abra Kadabra."

Ghost rolled his eyes. "Abra Kadabra, then."

Flare chuckled, then morphed into a quill. Dipping his friend's quill form into the ink, Ghost began to draw a circle on the paper. He crossed lines through the circle, forming an intricate pattern before putting a small upside down triangle in the middle. It took him about a minute, with him occasionally looking up from the paper to reference his book. When he finished, he lifted the paper up and smiled. Ghost pulled some string and a small pair of scissors out of his bag. He cut himself a length of string and asked Flare to get him a medium sized stick.

"What am I? A dog?" Flare said as he rolled his eyes.

Ghost frowned while attaching the string to the paper. "You still haven't completely redeemed yourself for laughing."

Flare stomped off, his shoulders slumped and his head low as grumbles escaped his throat. He returned a few seconds later with a good sized stick held between his teeth.

"Tis good?" he asked, through the stick.

"Tis perfect," Ghost said, finishing with the string.

Flare spat the stick out and Ghost picked it up. Using the string, he hung the paper on the stick.

"Think you can do anything, Twi?" Applejack asked with a worried frown.

"I'd have to know what I'm dealing with first," she said as she finished her observations. She then noticed Ghostwriter and Flare walk past them further into the orchard. Ghost was carrying a strange sign and looked around, assessing his position.

"Right here should be good," Ghost said sticking the strange sign in the ground. "And for the piece-de-resistance."

"I love this part," Flare said, giggling.

Ghost's horn lit up a light blue and touched the sign. The writing glowed bright green before settling to a dull glow. A green wave pulsed from the sign and worked it's way through the ground and into the surrounding trees. As the wave went up through the trees, they began to regain their color. The wave passed through the branches, perking them up, and and settling in the fruit resting at the tips. The once dull apples brightened to a healthier red. The sign sent out a few more waves before settling. Ghost smiled and nodded.

"What was that, Ghostwriter?" Twilight asked, her eyes wide in shock and awe.

Ghost turned, startled. He had been so absorbed in his work that he had forgotten they were there. "Oh… uh… It's a life rune. All it does is give the trees around it a pick-me-up and help them fight off whatever bug they have. It should last a week—provided it doesn't rain—and as long the trees are taken care of, they should have kicked this bug by that point."

He looked around in thought. "I should probably put a couple more around the orchard, just in case some of the other trees have it. I'd have to come back with better supplies though, if you want me to, of course."

Applejack had gotten over her shock and walked over to him. With a smile on her face, she draped her foreleg over his back. "Stranger, that was a mighty fine trick you pulled. Whatever you did, I'd be grateful if you could do that to the entire orchard, just to be safe." Applejack shook her head. "Oh, hay. Where are my manners? Names Applejack. What's yours?"

Ghost blushed. "Uh... I'm Ghostwriter, Ghost for short." Ghost pointed to Flare. "And that's Flare."

"Hi," Flare greeted, waving a paw.

Applejack's eyes widened at talking fox, but soon settled to a smile again.

Twilight smiled. "Ghost is the Princess' personal scribe. She sent him to interview us for a book."

"Well, you be sure to tell the Princess thanks for sending this helpful guy down here." She moved back to the healthier looking tree. "Now, you just come back when ya can and get these trees all fixed up."

"Uh, sure…" Ghost said, tongue-tied and blushing slightly.

"Where ya off to next, Twi?" Applejack asked, turning to her with a smile.

"I was going to give Ghost a tour, so we're going to head back into town," Twilight said as she motioned back towards the dirt path.

"Well, I got a few things here to do first, but I'll meet you in a little while," Applejack said, turning back to the orchard. "See ya, Twilight and thanks again, Ghost."

Ghost gathered his bag and the group walked out.

"So what was that magic you used?" Twilight asked excitedly, her eyes shining with a curious light. "I've never seen magic like that before."

"It's rune magic," Ghost said, a small smile on his face. "It's kind of a dead practice. It was only discovered three years ago. The Princess has restrictions on who's allowed to know it. She probably would let you learn it, if you asked her." Ghost shook his head. "Anyway I don't have much talent in traditional magic, aside from basic levitation. But rune magic is different. With rune magic, I'm actually fairly competent."

Flare shifted to his Celestia form on Ghost's back. "You must have—"

"That Mini-Princess better have the right wings when I turn around or you're not getting cake," Ghost interrupted, frowning. Flare frowned and shifted back to normal. Ghost turned his attention back to Twilight, his eyes bright. "Anyway, rune magic is the practice of using written symbols to amplify magical energy."

Ghost pushed his glasses up. "Just the smallest amount of power is needed to work a rune, and with the right combination, you can give a spell its own power source which would mean—"

"You could keep a spell going for years," Twilight said, her eyes wide as she thought of the possibilities. "Then why is it considered a dead practice? It seems so useful."

"Well, a few reasons, actually. It has its advantages over regular magic, but it's actually rather inferior," Ghost said, shrugging. "For one, some of the more powerful runes need enormous amounts of prep time, leading to hours of drawing. Not very practical when you need a quick solution. Second, is the amount of precision required. If a symbol is even a hair off, it could backfire upon activation. This is especially problematic if you are trying to make a self-powered rune. You have to flow magic through it as you draw and if you make a mistake, it could very well explode."

Ghost paused for a second. "Third, is that runes were responsible for the complete annihilation of an ancient civilization in a single night."

Twilight nearly tripped. She turned to Ghost with a questioning glance. "What?"

"It's actually an interesting story," Ghost chuckled. He noticed his surroundings and slumped, his face adopting a nervous frown. "But, uh, I'll tell you later."

Twilight picked up on Ghost sudden discomfort. She looked around, seeing they were back in Ponyville. "You okay, Ghost?"

"Hmm." Ghost hung his head low as if trying to make himself smaller. "Oh yeah, fine."

"He's got social anxiety," Flare said, turning to her.

"I have what ponies would consider social anxiety, yes," Ghost said, glaring at the ground. "Thank you for bringing it to light, Flare. Where did you even hear that?"

"The Princess said it while she was teaching me to send letters," Flare said, shrugging.

"I see. Well, I don't have social anxiety." Ghost rolled his eyes before sighing. "I just get nervous when ponies stare at me, is all."

"Well, of course they're staring. Those robes make you stand out." Twilight raised her brow. "In fact, isn't it kind of hot in that thing? It is summer."

Ghost shrugged. "Not really."

"Your back is soaked," whined Flare, lifting his paw and shaking it.

"Again, thank you, Flare." Ghost frowned. "Anyway, I've worn stuff like this all my life. I'd feel off without it."

Twilight raised her brow. "If you're going to live in Ponyville, you need something a little less… restricting."

Ghost's frown deepened. "This is the only set of clothes I brought."

Twilight smirked and led Ghost down another path. "Then I know our next stop."

* * *

"I don't know. This place looks a little…"

"A little what?" Twilight asked, with a raised eye.

"Uh, girly," Ghost said, frowning. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," he quickly amended, shaking his head. "It's just that, well, I'm a stallion, so the stuff here might not be for me."

"My friend Rarity, owns this shop," Twilight said, rolling her eyes and smiling, "and her expertise goes beyond just dresses. Tell her what you want and she can make it."

"Well." Ghost smiled and sighed. "I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

Twilight walked to the door and opened it, a smirk on her face. "Not really."

Ghost bowed his head and walked through the entrance, Twilight soon following.

"Rarity!" Twilight called, looking around the room. "I brought you some work!"

Ghost looked around with a curious expression. He noticed several mannequins meant to model clothes. Some were wearing outfits that Ghost had seen in Canterlot.

_Oh, so this must be where they come from,_ he thought.

"Oh, Twilight," said the white mare that walked into the room. Her mane and tail were purple and curly. Her cutie mark appeared to be three blue diamonds in a triangle. Her blue eyes watched her friend as she walked up. Ghost noticed that she carried herself with an air of sophistication, almost like a Canterlot pony. "To what do I owe this occasion?"

It was then that she noticed Ghost. "Oh, who is this? Not your usual company." Her face adopted a playful smirk. "A coltfriend, perhaps?"

Ghost blushed at the sudden implications, while Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Nothing like that Rarity," Twilight said, shaking her head. She turned her head to Ghost. "This is Ghostwriter, Celestia's personal scribe. He's going to be in Ponyville for a while, to interview us for a book. Ghost, this is Rarity."

Rarity turned to the nervous stallion. "A pleasure to meet someone of such distinguished status."

"I'm not really all that—"

"I'll be happy to help you, but right now, I'm very busy," Rarity said interrupting Ghost.

"What are you busy with?" Flare asked, cocking his head.

"Oh my," Rarity gasped at Flare. "What is this?"

"Sorry," Ghost said. "This is my friend Flare."

Rarity smiled and rubbed Flares head. "Well, little fox, I'm working on some suits Fancy Pants requested for his summer collection."

_Huh, so she knows Mr. Fancy Pants._ Ghost thought.

Ghost didn't like most Canterlot ponies. They tended to put up a front when talking to him. Ghost could easily tell that they would only talk to him because of his position and wouldn't give him the time of day otherwise. But Fancy Pants was different, at least to Ghost. If he did think Ghost was weird, he hid it very well. Ghost had only met the stallion a few times, but he encouraged Ghost that being a dreamer wasn't a bad thing.

"It was a pleasure meeting you. I must get back to work on some new designs," Rarity said, turning around.

"Actually, I need a favor," Twilight said, turning Rarity's attention back to them. "See, Ghost is going to be living in Ponyville for a while. As such, he needs some better clothes."

Rarity turned to stare at Ghost's attire, her lips pursed in concentration.

"Hmm," she began, "Your position and attire definitely point towards Canterlot. Most of the ponies around here don't wear clothes all the time."

"You're correct, Miss Rarity," Ghost responded with a nod and a nervous smile as he watched her pace around him.

Rarity smiled while her eyes scanned him. "Such manners. You don't see that too often."

Ghost shrugged. "My sister taught me to be respectful. It is second nature to me."

"Do you have any particular requirements for your new wardrobe?" Rarity asked, stopping to levitate a few tailoring tools.

"Well…" Ghost looked to his attire, a hoof to his chin in thought. "Something like this, but more of a focus on practicality, I guess."

"Length?"

"Enough to cover my shoulders and part of my back."

"Anything else?" Rarity asked, looking over some designs.

"A hood," Ghost said, not missing a beat. "It has to have a hood."

"I see," Rarity said, looking back to him. She put a hoof to her chin before closing her eyes and raising her chin. "First things first, I need you to take off those dreadful robes."

"Uh, alright. You are the expert," Ghost said nervously, as he shed himself of his cloak and bag. He folded the cloak before slipping it into his bag.

Twilight watched, as Rarity took some measurements. Twilight could finally see Ghost's cutie mark, which was a blank scroll with a quill.

Rarity closed her eyes in thought. "Aha!" she exclaimed. She quickly levitated some cloth to her side. "Give me a few minutes and I should have the perfect thing," she said as she walked up the stairs.

Twilight and Ghostwriter, still robe-less, spent some time discussing history and how Twilight predicted Nightmare Moon. Ghost actually took notes of the info so he could use it later. True to her word, Rarity returned three minutes later, a folded garment beside her.

"I wouldn't call this my best work, but it should be perfectly suited for your needs," Rarity said, a confident smile on her face. She gave the garment to Ghost and pointed to a hallway. "There is a mirror in the back room. Go on and try it out. If it requires adjusting, just tell me."

Ghost followed the direction pointed out by Rarity's hoof to the back room, Flare a step behind him.

Ghost fiddled with the cloth he had been given. It was dark blue with a slight silver trimming and seemed more like a small cloak compared to his previous attire. There was a small gold clasp where his neck would fit, meant for securing the garment in place. It was clear that it also had a hood. Using his magic, he slipped it onto his back and fit the clasp together. Ghost looked himself over in the mirror.

"Not bad," he said to himself, a smile on his face. "Miss Rarity certainly knows what she's doing. What do you think, Flare?"

The young kitsune looked at his caretaker. He smiled. "You look cool, Ghost."

"This should be just inconspicuous enough for town, and if some evil force kills everything I've ever loved, I can moonlight as a super hero." Ghost smirked as he flicked the hood up, allowing the shade to cover his eyes.

"Beware, Evildoers," he said in a dark, brooding voice, holding part of the cloak in front of his face. "Tonight, you face the spirit of vengeance: Ghostrider!"

Flare giggled, but there was also another giggle, belonging to a certain mare.

Ghost whipped around, throwing the hood off his head.

"Miss Twilight!" he squeaked in surprise. "How… uh… how long have you been standing there?"

Twilight smirked. "I came in around the 'some evil force' part."

Ghost looked to the floor, his ears drooped with embarrassment. "Uh, sorry."

"It's okay, Ghost." Twilight smiled. "I thought it was funny."

Ghost didn't look up. "Uh, thanks," he said as he scuffed the floor with his hoof. "My mind kinda wanders away with me. Most ponies find it weird."

"You should meet my friend Pinkie Pie," Twilight said with a chuckle. " I think you and her would get along." She smiled. "I take it you like the change of clothes?"

Ghost turned back to the mirror, a small smile appearing. "They are certainly what I need, though I can't help but feel like there is an attribute missing." Ghost raised an eye and pursed his lips. "Got it. Flare, go get the small blue box out of my bag."

Flare returned with said box, which Ghostwriter took from him. He opened the box and stared at the object inside with admiration. The object in question was a chain and was meant as a decoration for robes. There were two pins on either side to attach it to the garment with a small open book made of gold with a gold quill in the center. Ghost quickly pulled out the chain and attached it to his cloak's front. The book was positioned in the center of his chest. Ghost looked back at the mirror and smirked.

"Perfect," he declared proudly as he stamped his hoof. "Ties it all together nicely."

The three left the back room and returned to Rarity.

"Well, I must say that looks dashing on you, Ghostwriter," Rarity said with a smile. "Much better than that old robe." Rarity spotted the chain. "And I see you've added a personal touch, too."

"Thank you for the clothing, Miss Rarity. You really know your stuff," Ghost said with a slight blush. "So how much do I owe you?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Rarity said, waving her hoof dismissively. "It was my pleasure to help. In fact you have inspired me to make more of those. There is a certain amount of elegance in its simplicity."

Ghost frowned. "Are you sure? I have enough." Ghost started to pull his bits out of his bag, but Rarity herded him towards the door.

"Come now, accept my generosity." The three were pushed outside. "Anyway, I would love to chat, but I have work that I simply must take care of. Pleasure meeting you Ghostwriter, Flare, and remember what we talked about, Twilight."

Rarity shut the door, leaving a bewildered Ghost and Flare and a slightly blushing Twilight.

"Is she always like that?" Ghost asked with a raised brow.

"Pretty much." Twilight sighed. "Come on. I still have some friends for you to meet."

"Ghost! I want my cake!" Flare whined, his stomach letting out an audible growl.

Twilight smirked. "Then, have I got the perfect place for our next stop."

Ghost smiled. "Wow, a perfect segue."

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

End Part 1.


	2. Scribes Are Weird Part 2

Scribes are Weird: Part 2

It was just a quick trip from the Carousel Boutique to Sugar Cube Corner. The time spent walking was spent in Ghost's thoughts while occasionally answering a question Twilight asked him. Truth be told, he was in a pretty good mood. The ponies he had met all seemed nice and weren't putting up a front, though he hadn't talked to them extensively. Applejack seemed pleased that Ghost could help her and Miss Rarity seemed to appreciate his manners.

But by far, Twilight Sparkle was a pony whose company he would enjoy most. Her interest in academia resonated closely with Ghost interest in history —one did not become a Scribe, whose job involves history, without an interest in the subject— and lore, though she did seem more of a realist.

But the thought of actually gaining a friend, was undermined by his own doubts. The fact that they had yet to actually get to know him and that back in Canterlot, his personality was a turn-off, was at the back of his mind, gnawing at his hope, like a lion biting a gazelle. Once they got to know him, he was sure they would scatter.

Ideally, he would find out what was socially acceptable and curb his tendencies to that, but Twilight had stated a true fact. Suppressing his own personality to please others was something Ghost never wanted to do. It was one of the reasons he hated Canterlot, a city based on fashion, prestige, and trends. It was a place where you didn't get to be yourself. You act as other ponies think you should act, you act the same as others, unless you were lucky and your style was considered popular. Then, other ponies would start to act like you. A city of fakers, Ghost had always thought.

Not that all ponies there were like that. Ghost had met some genuine hearted ponies in his years living there. The few times that Ghost had met Fancy Pants had proved that he was a good stallion that merely put up with his followers. Fancy Pants seemed to enjoy the stories of Ghost's travels. The two had even shared a laugh when a couple of the higher profile ponies had started trying to include themselves in the conversation, merely proving Ghost point.

But back on point, Ghost had an inner dilemma. Ghost had long ago decided that he shouldn't care what others think and be content to be himself. Not to say that negative opinions of him didn't sting, but Ghost had thicker skin. Still, Ghost was not meant to be a loner and he really did want somepony he could call friend. Ghost had tried to be himself in Canterlot and paid for it. What was to say it wouldn't happen here? So what should he do, sacrifice his true self to obtain some much needed companionship or risk alienating himself and lose this one shot? Ghost's mental assessment was brought to a close by Twilight's voice.

"This is it," she said, stopping.

Ghost looked at the building and smirked. "Well, it defiantly looks the part."

The building looked like a gingerbread house.

Ghost looked to Flare and rolled his eyes, as drool hung out of the twin-tail's mouth. "I can see your satisfied."

Twilight giggled. "Not surprised," she said, walking towards the door. "Another one of my friends works here."

Ghost was curious about the personality of this friend. Between Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight herself, the personalities of the girls seemed pretty varied and he wondered how all the different personalities even fit.

Ghost followed her into the bakery. His nose was instantly veiled in the scent of sugary treats and fresh baked goods. Ghost was no stranger to sugar. His own night owl tendencies were started because of sugar filled nights. The smell brought a smile to his face and he took a big whiff and sighed in satisfaction, the smell calming him.

However, this took on the opposite effect for Flare. As soon as the fox was in the door, he tried to make a dash for some cupcakes. Ghost had expected this and his powers kept a firm hold on the Flare's tails. Ghost could not use more traditional magic, but he had learned to use levitation and holding with just the littlest amounts of concentration. With Flare secured, Ghost proceeded to look at the wares of the bakery. Twilight went to the counter.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Cake," Twilight said cheerfully. "Is Pinkie Pie around?"

Ghost turned to the two conversing mares. Mrs. Cake, as she seemed to be called, was a plump mare with light blue fur. Her mane was a light pink with a stripe of even lighter pink down the middle. The style was what caught Ghost's eye. If he were to describe it, it seemed like somepony had put pink ice cream, no, frosting. It appeared as though somepony attempted to frost her head.

_That's actually rather appropriate for one who works at a bakery, _Ghost thought.

Her tail was styled in much the same way. She was wearing a yellow apron with pink frills near the shoulder, and round pink earrings. Her cutie mark appeared to be three cupcakes with vanilla icing and a cherry. Her pink eyes looked at the unicorn in front of her with a gentle, caring look.

"Sorry, dearie," Mrs. Cake said with a slight frown, the warmth never leaving her eyes. "She came in a little while ago saying something like 'Hold my appointments' and then ran and locked herself in her room."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Sounds like she's planning something."

"Yes," Mrs. Cake agreed with a nod. "And I think it would be smart to stay out of her way." It was then that her attention turned to Ghostwriter, as he walked up. "Oh my, who's this? I've never seen him in Ponyville before. Perhaps a date, Miss Sparkle?"

Ghost blushed. _Why is that the first thing ponies assume? _he thought. _Still, I wouldn't complain, _he admitted. _Slightly surprised she doesn't have to beat off suitors with a stick._

An image of Twilight rapidly swinging a stick to keep blank eyed stallions away appeared in his head.

_That seemed more suited for a zombie outbreak. Ooh, that would make a good story,_ Ghost eyes glazed over, his mind already making plans for settings and characters.

"Nothing of the sort, Mrs. Cake," Twilight said, smiling slightly while shaking her head. "Just doing my civic duty and showing Ghostwriter around town."

Twilight noticed Ghost's eyes were glassy and wide, his attention focused on something in his own mind. "Ghost?" She poked his shoulder.

"Hmm," Ghost snapped out of his trace and shook his head. He blushed and chuckled. "Uh, sorry. I zoned out for a second." Ghost held out his hoof. "My name is Ghostwriter. But, uh… just call me Ghost."

Mrs. Cake's eyes held the same warmth they had looking at Twilight.

_There's no reason for her to judge me, yet_,Ghost thought _Key word being yet,_ said the small voice in the back of Ghost mind.

"Welcome to Ponyville, dearie," she said, shaking the hoof.

Ghost smiled lightly at the welcoming tone.

"So what brings you to our little town?" Mrs. Cake asked with a smile.

Ghost pushed up his glasses. "Well, uh… Princess Celestia sent me to interview Miss Twilight and her friends about the… various events they were involved in."

"Oh, that's a big deal to be sent by the princess."

"I've… heard something to that effect, yes," Ghost said, looking elsewhere with a small blush.

"Oh, what's that?" Mrs. Cake asked, pointing to the creature near Ghostwriter.

Ghost picked up Flare. "Oh, sorry, where are my manners? This is my companion, Flare. He, uh, talks, by the way."

"Cupcakes!" Flare said, as he drooled.

Mrs. Cake laughed. "Well, I think I know what he wants."

"Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!" Flare chanted.

"Flare!" Ghost said, with a frown. "Manners!"

"Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!" he chanted again. "Please."

Twilight and Mrs. Cake laughed, while Ghost rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Since Flare wants his cupcake," Twilight started. "I'll have a blueberry muffin, please." She looked at Ghost. "We'll relax here for a bit."

Ghost nodded and looked at Mrs. Cake. "Just some slices of bread for me, please"

"Cupcakes!" Flare whined.

"And _one_ cupcake for my friend here. Sorry about _his atrocious behavior_," Ghost said disapprovingly, aiming it more at Flare than Mrs. Cake.

Mrs. Cake brought out their snacks and the trio sat at a table.

"So what happened to that civilization?" Twilight said, after tasting her muffin. Her eyes were already lit with curiosity.

Ghost took a bit of his bread. Swallowing, he started talking. "The civilization was called Gallopia."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "Galopia... I've heard of it. A small nation, north of Equestria. They tend to keep to themselves and little is known about their culture."

Ghost nodded. "They created Rune Magic long ago." Ghost took another bite before continuing. "It was said that Rune Magic got so useful and mainstream, that even earth ponies and pegasi where able to use it."

"Magic that even an earth pony can use?" Twilight asked, wide eyed. "How was that possible?"

"I said before, that Rune Magic only needs a tiny bit of power, well..." Ghost put a hoof to his chin. "Depends on the power of the rune, of course," Ghost said, pushing his glasses up. "If an earth pony can draw the rune, and with a bit of training in how to use a magic spark, then _viola_, earth pony magic. It wouldn't be anything too complicated, but it would be magic."

"That's amazing," Twilight said fascinated. "So what went wrong?"

Ghost smirked. "How astute," he said. "Once any pony could use magic, the unicorns of the kingdom felt they had lost what made them important. So, they gathered up all the runes they could find and locked them in Castle Gallop."

Ghost finished his bread. "I'm sure this comes as no surprise but, the pegasi and earth ponies didn't take it well and decided to storm the castle."

Ghost looked to Twilight, whose wide eyes were focused on him. Flare, meanwhile, had snapped up the cupcake, tearing through the wrapper.

"No pony can say what happened for sure that night. Personally, I have a theory that too many runes activated in the vicinity of each other," Ghost said, shrugging. "All we know, is that during that night, the entire population of the kingdom disappeared without a trace."

"How did you come across them?" Twilight asked, finishing her muffin.

"When I was younger, I traveled a lot," Ghost said, as he wiped Flare's face of the cupcake massacre. "I came across an expedition group that was entering the castle ruins. I offered to go along. See, even today, Gallopia doesn't teach magic. They feel that the Gallopian Calamity was an ancient god teaching them a lesson for using magic."

Twilight's eyes kept focus on Ghost, hanging on his every word

Ghost continued. "There aren't that many unicorns in Gallopia, either. Most leave when they can, due to their talent." Ghost looked out the window, recalling his journey. "The expedition team was glad to have me along, if I could sense magic traps."

"There couldn't have been a lot there," Twilight said, frowning slightly.

Ghost shook his head. "The ruins had been cleaned out ages ago, by bandits and the like, I assume. All except one room." He smirked, turning back to Twilight. "While we were searching, we found a large, ornately covered wall. I didn't know it at the time, but the wall had a rune on it. I used a sight spell to see through it and found a hallway on the other side."

"How did you figure out how to work the rune?" Twilight asked.

Ghost looked away with an embarrassed frown, while sheepishly rubbing his neck. "I, uh, I didn't." Ghost coughed. "When I used the sight spell, I saw that the wall was only three feet thick. I thought that there might be a way to open it on the other side, so I decided to 'ghost' through it."

Twilight was aware what he meant by 'ghosting'. It was a popular slang term for an intangibility spell. The spell itself, while easy to perform, was difficult to keep up. Twilight had heard many stories of young unicorn colts and fillies getting stuck in walls. It got so bad, that the spell was removed from the lower level curriculum before Twilight got accepted into school.

"I wasn't very good at it, so to avoid getting stuck, I took a running leap," Ghost said avoiding Twilight's gaze.

"Did you get through?" Twilight asked.

Ghost sighed. "That's the embarrassing part. I completely fudged up the spell and slammed into the wall." Ghost looked back to Twilight. "Still, it wasn't a complete waste," he said with a shrug. "My magic was still sparking when I collided with the wall, so I activated the rune, which in turn, opened the wall."

Twilight giggled.

"What we found on the other side, was a secret archive," Ghost said, his eyes lighting up with the memory. "A giant chamber, filled with books on every subject the Gallopians had." He waved his hooves trying to emphasize the large scale. "History, science, magic, art, it was all there, just waiting for somepony to find it. The expedition team said I could have one, a sort of spoil. There was this one book in the center, though. I felt drawn to it. The book, which they let me have, by the way, was a guide on all the runes the civilization ever made."

Ghost pulled out a book from his bag and set it on the table. "I gave the original to the Canterlot Museum, but not before I copied every rune down into this book." He patted the book. "As I traveled, I began practicing. I returned to Canterlot and showed the Princess what I learned."

Ghost looked at the book. Its cover was simple brown leather, but it's size made it more of a tome. To Ghostwriter, it was his most precious work, second only to the travel journal he kept all those years ago.

Ghost started to speak again. "The Princess said that rune magic, while useful, could be very dangerous, and as such, made it a rule that rune magic can only be taught to those she deemed worthy. She also gave me another title."

"I'm both the Royal Scribe and the Royal Rune Magician." Ghost frowned. "Personally, I think it's a mouthful and it makes me sound too…" He paused. "Important. I'm just a scribe. But that's how i found the runes. It was only four years ago, but it feels like longer."

Twilight looked at the scribe with a raised brow. "How old are you, Ghost?"

Ghost shrugged. "About a year older than you. Why?"

Twilight's eyes widened, her head calculating what Ghost's age at the time would have been.

"But that means you would have been—"

"Merely a colt when I set out," Ghost said, nodding. "All things considered, it was pretty stupid, but I'm not exactly full of bright ideas."

Ghost turned to the window. His eyes glazed over, as he recalled a time passed. "I got lucky, I suppose," he said. "Met the right ponies."

_And zebras and buffalo,_ he added in his head.

"I could have died out there." He shook his head. "Hay, I almost did," Ghost said, laughing it off. "The world's not as forgiving as we make it out to be," he said with a sad smile. He perked up, soon after. "But I've seen and heard things that no pony in Equestria can claim." Ghost turned his attention to Flare, who was taking a nap on the table. His smile grew. "All in all, I'd say it was worth it."

Twilight recognized the look Ghost had turned on the sleeping fox. It was one she herself had given Spike. It was clear that in the time Ghost had known Flare, he had come to see the young fox as a brother.

_I should get something for Spike, _Twilight thought. _He's been really helpful at the library lately._

Tuning back into the real world, Twilight noticed Ghost looking past her with a raised brow.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"There's this weird mare that's been watching us this whole time," Ghost said, frowning slightly. "She's been hiding behind a newspaper with eye holes." Ghost looked closer and chuckled. "And the newspaper is three years old."

"What does she look like?" Twilight asked, not turning around. She had a pretty good idea who it was.

"She's pink," Ghost said simply. "Very pink."

Twilight sighed. "Just what I thought."

"Come to think of it," Ghost said, as he put a hoof to his chin. "I think that's the mare that I met when I got into town."

"Did she scream and run away?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, raising an eye. "Do you know her?"

"She's a friend of mine," Twilight said, standing up." Come on, let's go see what she's up to."

Ghost stood and nudged Flare. "Come on, Flare. Time to play meet and greet."

"I don't wanna play games," the sleepy Flare mumbled. He rolled over before curling up

Ghost smiled and rolled his eyes before putting the young fox in his hood. Ghost walked up to where Twilight and her bubblegum colored friend were.

"Pinkie Pie, What are you doing?" Twilight asked, frowning.

"Shhh!" Pinkie responded, turning away from the paper and glaring at twilight. "You'll blow my cover, Twilight. I'm on an observation mission."

"And what would you be observing?" Ghost asked, his eyebrow raised.

"The new pony," Pinkie said, sticking her face back into the paper. "Oh, I lost him."

"I think your cover's blown, anyway," Ghost said smiling.

"Why?"

Ghost kept quiet.

Pinkie's eyes widened. The bubbly mare ripped the paper away and stared at Ghost.

"Hi," he said, expecting her to bolt.

The mare's reaction was the opposite of what Ghost had expected, based on his first impression. The phrase 'never judge a book by its cover' had never rang truer in Ghost mind than at that exact moment.

The pink mare jumped up and began talking in one hurried breath

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie. Do you remember me? You asked me where the library was and I was like 'AHHH'. But that was because I was excited, because I had never seen you before and if I had never seen you before then you have to be new, because I know every pony in Ponyville and I didn't know you," The mare known as Pinkie Pie said while getting in Ghost face. "What's your name? Are you a friend of Twilight's?"

"Uh…"

"Twilight, is he a friend of yours?" Pinkie asked, turning the barrage of words to her magically inclined friend. "Is he a coltfriend? I didn't think you had time for coltfriends. I didn't even think you were interested. I know some stallions that are interested. I know some mares that are interested, too, if your into that."

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight cried, with a fierce blush on her face. "How do you even know about those kinds of relations?"

Pinkie smiled. "I read naanga."

Ghost shook his head fiercely to clear out any unfriendly images.

"What's your favorite series?" he asked.

Pinkie turned back to him, a smile perpetually on her face. "Well I'm really into 'Oran Magic School Host Club' right now, but I also really like 'Fullmetal Alchemist'."

"Both good series," Ghost said with a nod. "I'm only on volume two of 'Host Club, though."

Pinkie paused, putting a hoof to her chin. "Never met a stallion that liked shojo before."

"I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic." Ghost chuckled, while scratching his neck with a slight blush.

Pinkie laughed. "I like you already."

Twilight seemed to have regained her composure and spoke up. "Pinkie."

The party pony turned to her.

"This is Ghostwriter. He is not a ghost," she said, holding up her hooves in case Pinkie bolted.

Pinkie just gave her a blank stare. "Pff, I know that, silly filly," she said, waving her hoof in a dismissive gesture. "That's his name. Duh. Oh, can I call you, Ghost?"

"It's what everyone else calls me," Ghostwriter said with a small smile.

Pinkie giggled. "You're gonna love your welcome party."

Ghost eyes widened. "Uh, party?"

"Of course," Pinkie said, not seeing Ghostwriter's apprehension. "I always throw a party for new ponies."

Twilight spoke first. "Pinkie, about that. Ghost is staying at the library and hasn't settled in yet. Mind postponing the party for now?"

Pinkie frowned. "But it's tradition. I did it for you and Cranky and the baby Cakes and,"

"Uh, Miss Pie," Ghost voiced, trying to get her attention.

Pinkie smiled at him. "Oh, just call me Pinkie Pie, or Pinkie, or Pink."

Ghost laughed. _Her and I are going to get along just fine,_ he thought.

"Pinkie, then," Ghost said with a smile. "What Twilight is trying to say, is I'm not exactly good with parties," he said, shaking his head. "Why don't we wait until I'm a little more… adjusted?"

Pinkie frowned at him. "You Pinkie Promise?"

"What's a Pinkie Promise?" Ghost asked, skeptically.

"Repeat after me," she said, standing on her haunches. "Cross my heart, hope to fly." She used her hoof to draw an x over her chest.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly," Ghost said, mimicking the actions.

"Stick a cupcake in my eye," Pinkie finished, putting a hoof over her eye.

"Stick a cupcake in my eye," Ghost said, also putting a hoof over his eye.

"There. Now you can't back out of it," Pinkie said, happily. She quickly got in Ghost face. "Because you never break a Pinkie Promise," she said in a low and serious voice. In a split second, she was back to her peppy self. "Oooh, this gives me more time to plan. Bye, Twilight. Bye, Ghost."

With her goodbyes in order, the party pony skipped out of the bakery.

Twilight looked to Ghost, who was wide eyed at Pinkie's sudden mood swing.

"You okay?" she asked, frowning slightly.

Ghost shook his head and smirked. "I feel like I just made a deal with something that escaped Tartarus."

Twilight put a hoof to mouth and giggled.

"Well, then," Ghost said, turning to her. "Where to next, Miss Twilight?"

"Let's get you familiar with the rest of Ponyville," Twilight said, as she lead the Ghost out the door.

"Who."

Twilight looked to the sky to see a brown owl fly towards them.

"Owlowiscious," she called, as the owl stopped in front of her. He dropped a scroll and a letter, then took a seat on her back.

"You have a pet owl?" Ghost asked.

Twilight simply nodded before looking to the note Owlowiscious had brought.

Ghost couldn't help but find that a magically inclined librarian owning an owl, was somewhat fitting

"It's from Spike," she said, as she opened the letter. "It says that he received a note for you from the Princess, and that…" Twilight sighed. "He went to Rarity's. I swear, that dragon and his crush."

"A dragon with a crush on a pony?" Ghost questioned, with a hum. His face took on a grimace. "That sounds like something out of a bad romance novel."

Ghost shook his head to clear out the other thoughts, an action he tended to do a lot. Ghost levitated the scroll and opened it.

"Let's see," he hummed, looking it over. "Dear Ghostwriter, how are you adjusting, I have important news about the deadline for your assignment." Ghost frowned.

The Princess never gave Ghostwriter deadlines, due to Ghost usually making his own. This was a code. The Princess had long ago discovered that Ghost tended to talk letters out. As her scribe, Ghost was privy to certain information that others were not. 'Deadline' was code for 'this next part is secret, keep it like that'. Ghost read the next lines in silence, his frown deepening.

Twilight saw the change in Ghost emotions. "Everything okay, Ghost?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ghost answered, hastily putting the scroll into his bag.

_I'll take care of it tonight,_ he thought.

"The Princess just pushed up my deadline is all," he said, trying to diffuse Twilight's suspicion.

While Twilight could tell that wasn't the whole truth, she didn't try and pry. Whatever it was, it was between Ghostwriter and the Princess. Still…

"Anyway," Ghost said, trying to change the subject. "How did you get an owl as a pet?"

"Oh, well, he just sort of helped me out one night and I decided to keep him." She smiled. "Had a little trouble when Spike thought he was being replaced, but it worked out."

"Huh, always wanted a pet," Ghost said, shrugging. "But Canterlot's selection was always lacking."

"If you want a pet, we should visit my friend Fluttershy," Twilight said, walking in the direction of said pony's cottage. "She has lots of animals to choose from."

"Couldn't hurt."

With a destination set, the trio walked along the dirt path towards their target.

* * *

"I don't think you should get a pet, Ghost," Flare said, perched atop Ghost head.

"Well, you won't be my pet," Ghost said, as the two ponies walked down the path.

Flare had woken up while they were walking. When he was told of their destination and intent, he started trying to convince Ghost not to go through with it.

"It's not like I can replace you, Flare," Ghost said, rolling his eyes. "Just don't eat it."

Flare grumbled and jumped down.

He was a bit cranky that Ghost wanted another animal. Wasn't he enough? Flare shook his head. No, Ghost didn't see Flare as a pet. He was a friend. Still, the thought of another animal annoyed him, especially if there was the possibility of Ghost getting a rabbit or something like that. Foxes had the capability to be pack animals, but not when a member of their pack was considered food by another member.

Flare heard rustling in the grass beside the path. It sounded like a rabbit. Flare looked over to Ghost, who was deep in conversation with Twilight.

"He won't mind if I get a snack," Flare reasoned, as he slunk into the cover of the grass.

Spotting his prey, he smirked. His muscles tensed as he prepared to pounce. Like a spring, he shot forward. But instead of behaving like other rabbits Flare had hunted, this one jumped in the air, dodging the lunge before landing on his head and stomping. The rabbit took off, stopping a few feet away. Flare jumped up, a slight growl in his throat. Flare located the rabbit a little bit ahead of him. The rabbit blew a raspberry at him and bolted.

"It's on now," Flare growled, springing after the disrespectful rabbit. As he and said rabbit shot out of the grass, he could hear Ghost calling out to him. The call was drowned out as Flare succumbed to his predatory instincts.

Flare raced after the rabbit. The greenery soon thinned to a back yard, where the rabbit ran towards one of the two ponies in the yard and hopped onto the pony's back. Flare jumped, intent on tackling the rabbit, but he rabbit jumped and kicked him in his face. Flare flew back. Jumping up, he growled.

"You gotta lot of nerve, Rabbit."

"Angel, say you're sorry."

The second voice was enough for Flare to notice where he was. He was in a fenced in enclosure with many different animals. The voice belonged to the pony the rabbit had jumped up on. She was a pegasus with a bright yellow body. Her mane and tail were bright pink with a smooth, light curl at the end. Her eyes were blue and her cutie mark was three butterflies. Her disposition seemed calm.

"Why can a fox talk?"

This came from the other pony. This one was also a Pegasus, with a blue coat and rainbow colored hair. Her mane and tail were styled in scruffy look. Her cutie mark was a cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt. Her green eyes looked at the twin-tail with suspicion.

Flare sat down and frowned. "I'm not a fox. I'm a—"

"He's a Kitsune, Rainbow Dash," the yellow one said, her voice light and airy.

It was rather pleasant to Flare, but he was in slight shocked that some pony actually knew what he was.

"Their trickster demons. Though mostly a myth, they are believed to populate Neighpon. He's only has two tails so he can't be more than two hundred years old. That's pretty young for his kind. Kitsunes can live up to 1,000 years," she said, as she examined him.

"Fluttershy," the one named Rainbow Dash asked, with a raised eye. "How do you know that?"

Fluttershy blushed. "Oh, I read up on all animals, real or imaginary."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and frowned. "Well, I don't trust this thing," she said, glaring at the Flare. "You said their trickster demons, right? What if he has something bad planed for Ponyville?"

Flare shook his head. "I'm not allowed to pull any pranks until Ghost says so."

"Ghost, huh," Rainbow hummed. "So, is he your master?"

Flare nodded. "Though, he doesn't like it when I call him that."

"I see." Rainbow Dash got close to Flare's face. "What is your diabolical master planning? TALK, DEMON!"

Fluttershy grabbed Rainbow Dash and covered her mouth with a hoof.

"I'm sorry about that Mr. Kitsune," she said, softly.

"Flare, my name's Flare."

"My name is Fluttershy," the yellow mare said happily while letting go of Rainbow. "And this is Rainbow Dash."

"I'm not planning anything," Flare said. "Honest." He narrowed his eyes at the rabbit by Fluttershy's side. "I just wanna get that stupid rabbit for kicking me."

Fluttershy frowned. "Oh, I'm very sorry, Flare, but could you not eat Angel Bunny or any of the other animals around here. I take care of them all and wouldn't want them to be eaten."

Flare groaned. On one paw, he was hungry and that rabbit had it coming. On the other, something about the soft spoken pony made him want to listen.

"Oh, alright," he said, finally relenting.

Angel let out a squeak.

"What did you call me, cottontail?" Flare growled, jumping up.

Fluttershy frowned.

"Angel Bunny, what you said to Flare was very mean. You need to apologize," Fluttershy said, glaring at the rabbit.

Angel crossed his arms and turned up his head.

"Angel," Fluttershy warned. "Apologize!"

Angel grumbled and kicked the ground before letting out a small squeak.

Flare settled down some.

"Now," Fluttershy said, adopting a small smile. "If you're hungry, I have some food I can give you?"

Flare brightened up. "Do you have cupcakes?"

Fluttershy was caught slightly off guard. "Oh, uh, yes."

"No cupcakes," Ghost said, walking into the enclosure. "Flare, your grounded."

Ghost used his magic to pick up Flare and put him on his back.

"But why, Ghost?" Flare whined.

"You ran off," he said, glaring at Flare. "Do me a favor. The next time your stomach says 'he won't mind me getting a snack', tell it to shut up."

Flare slumped against Ghost's mane. "Sorry, Ghost."

"Apology accept— Gah!"

Rainbow Dash was in Ghost face, glaring full force at the unsuspecting stallion.

"So, you're Ghost," she said. "What's your evil scheme for Ponyville? Fess up!"

"Evil scheme?" Ghost asked, with a raised brow. He sighed. "What did you do, Flare?"

"Me?" the fox asked in shock. "I didn't do anything. She's the one making wild accu… accu… accu…"

"Accusations?"

"Right."

"Did you find him, Ghost?" Twilight called, as she entered the enclosure.

Twilight walked up to Rainbow Dash glaring a hole in Ghostwriter's head.

"What's going on?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Twilight, this guys gonna summon a demonic army to take over Ponyville," Rainbow said, not taking her eyes off of Ghost.

"Demonic army?" Ghost asked, trying not to chuckle.

"You can summon a demonic army?" Flare asked, excited.

"No, I can't. Flare, shut up," he said, annoyed.

"There's been a misunderstanding here," Twilight said calmly. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, this is Ghostwriter. He's a scribe for Princess Celestia. The princess sent him here for an important assignment."

"Oh, yeah," Rainbow challenged. "And what would that be?"

"My," Ghost said, slightly nervous. He shook his head and coughed. "My official assignment is to take personal accounts from the wielders of the Elements of Harmony about the situations they were involved in."

"Well, then." Rainbow Dash backed off and took flight. She smirked and crossed her arms. "I'll be sure to tell you all my most awesomest stories."

"Except that 'awesomest' is not a word," Ghost said, under his breath.

Twilight held in a giggle. "So why are you here, Rainbow?"

Rainbow pointed over to a large turtle with a copter pack. "It's my day off, so I'm taking Tank for his monthly check-up."

Said turtle was slowly opening his mouth.

"What exactly is he doing?" Ghost asked, with raised brow.

"He's in the middle of saying 'ahh'," Fluttershy said, putting her hooves together.

Rainbow Dash frowned. "This is why I do it on my off days. His check-ups take forever." She sighed. "I love the guy, but I can only stay in one place so long."

Twilight and Fluttershy giggled.

Ghost turned to Fluttershy.

"Miss Fluttershy, right?" he asked.

"Oh, uhm, y-yes," Fluttershy said, looking away.

"I must thank you for taking care of Flare."

"It was awesome, Ghost," Flare gushed. "She actually knew what I was."

Ghost was slightly surprised. "Really? I didn't think anyone in Equestria knew about kitsunes."

"I… read about animals a lot… whether they're real or not," Fluttershy said, shyly turning away. "Just getting to meet a kitsune is more than enough thanks."

Ghost smiled. "Well, Twilight tells me you're the authority to go to if I want a pet."

Fluttershy brightened up. "Oh, yes. I have many animals and all of them would make great pets. How about a bunny?"

"No rabbits!" Flare cried.

"Jeez, Flare," Ghost said, as he turned to him with frown. "Didn't know you had such a problem with rabbits."

"I didn't," he said. The twin-tail shook his head. "I mean, I don't!"

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said, guiltily as she looked at the ground. "Angel Bunny sort of kicked him in the face."

Ghost snorted. He quickly put a hoof to his mouth, lest more laughter escape.

"It's not funny, Ghost!" Flare cried, putting his front paws on Ghost's neck.

"It kinnda is," Rainbow said, giggling.

Flare glared at her.

"No, you're right," Ghost said, through mirth. "There is nothing funny about a superior predator, *Snort* getting his tail kicked by a rabbit."

Ghost broke. Flare slumped on his back.

"Cheer up, buddy," Ghost said, wiping his eye as the laughter passed. "Tell you what, because of that, you're not grounded. That seems like punishment enough."

Flare cheered up a little and Ghost turned back to Fluttershy. "Still, probably should stay away from rabbits. Best go with something that Flare won't consider a potential meal."

Fluttershy nodded and lead Ghost through her pets. One in particular caught Ghost's attention .

"That's a big bat," Ghost said, looking at the hanging lump in a nearby tree.

The bat in question was indeed large. Ghostwriter hazarded a guess that the bat could lift Flare, no problem.

"Oh, she's not just a bat," Fluttershy said, shaking her head. "She's an Austailian little red flying fox."

"Austailian?" Ghost questioned, as he held out a hoof to the bat. "You're a long way from there, aren't you, girl?"

The bat yawned. Unfurling her wings, she crawled onto Ghost outstretched hoof. She was a bit heavy, but Ghost didn't think it was a problem. The large bat settled herself and looked at Ghost. She squeaked before cocking her head to the side.

Ghost couldn't help but smile. "Your cute for a bat." He turned to Fluttershy. "She seems used to ponies."

Fluttershy nodded. "I think she is from a zoo and escaped, or worse was abandoned," Fluttershy said, sadly.

"But who'd abandon this furry little piece of sunshine," Ghost cooed.

The bat seemed to like what Ghost said. With a pleased squeak, she climbed her way up to the back of Ghost neck, settling into his mane.

"She seems to like you," Fluttershy said, happy.

"Well, what do you think, Flare?" Ghost asked with a grin.

Flare grumbled and looked at the potential roommate. "She's a flying rat," he said with disdain.

The bat turned up her head and squeaked.

"I'm not a mutt," Flare cried annoyed, as he showed his teeth. "I'm a fox." He paused then shook his head. "I mean, I'm not a fox, I'm a Kitsune!" he yelled.

Ghost chuckled. "Well, that settles things," he said, with a smirk. "All she needs now, is a name."

Ghost put a hoof to his chin in thought.

"How about Rat," Flare said, with a growl.

"Beatrix," Ghost said, definitively. "It's perfect."

The newly dubbed Beatrix squeaked in agreement.

"Traveler, huh," Twilight said, remembering the name's meaning.

"Though, sorry to say, Beatrix, I'll have to get you tomorrow," Ghost said, with a sigh. "I need to make a few adjustments to my room for you to stay there."

Beatrix gave a sad squeak and flew off Ghost's head.

Ghost turned to Fluttershy. "What exactly does she eat?" he asked, his head turned to the side.

"She will eat fruit, but she really likes eucalyptus leaves," Fluttershy answered.

"Where am I going to get eucalyptus leaves?" Ghost questioned himself, with a hoof to his chin.

"Uhm… I usually order it for my Koalas. I can give you some, if you like."

Ghost smiled. "Thanks. I'll pay you back for it."

"Ohh, it's no trouble," Fluttershy said, shaking her head. "I'm just glad Beatrix has a good home now."

"Hey, Fluttershy," Rainbow said. "Tank's done saying 'Ahh'."

Fluttershy flew over to them. "Good. Now we have to check his reflexes."

Fluttershy produced a small rubber mallet, which she quickly used to tap Tank's knee. Slowly Tank's leg began to lift. Rainbow Dash slapped her forehead.

Everyone giggled.

Ghost walked up to Twilight. "Well, with that all squared away, is there anything else you'd like to show me?"

Twilight thought. "That's pretty much it,"

Ghost smiled. "Alright, then. I guess I should unpack."

Twilight nodded and turned to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. "We're taking our leave, girls. Bye Fluttershy. Bye, Rainbow Dash."

"Bye, Twilight. See you tomorrow, Ghost," Fluttershy responded, waving.

Ghost nodded.

"See yah, Twilight," Rainbow said, before getting in Ghost's face again. "You're not off the hook yet. I'll be watching you."

"I'm not very exciting," Ghost joked nervously.

With that, the trio departed back to the library.

* * *

The rest of the day proceeded without any incidents. After returning to the library, Ghost had unpacked and went back to Sweet Apple Acres. There, he planted a couple more life runes and met the rest of Applejack's family. All of them seemed nice. In fact, all the ponies he had met today seemed nice. Pinkie was odd, but Ghost enjoyed her company, Fluttershy, while being her name sake, was kind and willing to give him a pet, Rainbow Dash seemed a little full of herself, but on a lower scale than some ponies he knew in Canterlot. All in all, Ponyville was shaping up to be a pleasant place to live. But that was a topic for later. Right now, other things took precedence. Ghost was currently sitting with Flare on the library's balcony. The moonlight that illuminated it, doing nothing to calm Ghost thoughts. He thought back to Princess Celestia's letter.

"The Rune Guide has been stolen," Ghost repeated with a sigh.

Ghost had always been wary of giving the museum the Rune Guide to begin with. However, he knew that the museum could protect it better than he ever could. Ghost had thought ahead, though, and taken some security measures of his own. The only one who knew of these measures, was the Princess herself, hence why Ghost was notified of the books disappearance.

"So are we going after it?" Flare asked.

Ghost shook his head. "That's not our job, Flare." He smirked. "But I can help."

"How?" the young fox asked.

"With my specialty," Ghost said, looking to the various papers in front of him.

"But how is a caramel apple dipped in chocolate and marshmallow cream supposed to help?"

"Not that specialty, Flare," Ghost said, rolling his eyes. "Runes. I have a special rune on the book."

"I thought the paper in the book meant that the runes couldn't be activated?"

"True, but this rune is not on the paper, it's on the cover," Ghost said, laying out a map of Equestria. "The particular rune I used is a locator beacon. When it's used in conjunction with this rune," Ghost held up another piece of paper with an intricate symbol on it. "It will tell me exactly where the book is."

"How does it work?" Flare asked, looking at the map.

"Watch and learn, my dear friend." Ghost activated the rune. Setting the rune on the map of Equestria, The circle disappeared to show the map. Ghost swept the rune all over the map till a glowing dot appeared.

"Aha, I got it. The book is in…" Ghost raised an eyebrow.

Flare looked at the map. "But that's Ponyville."

Ghost took the rune off, while simultaneously looking through a stack of maps. Finding one of Ponyville, he laid it out and put the rune on it. The glowing dot showed the book was in a back alley near them.

"It's so close," Flare gasped.

Ghost was at an impasse. Originally, he had planned on locating it, then sending a message to the princess alerting her. He could still do that, but in the time it would take for the royal guard to get there, the thief could be gone. He could try and get the book back himself, but he was a scribe. What could he do? Ghost's face hardened. That wasn't the attitude to have. He was here to record a story about six mares that stopped a threat when most would say it was hopeless. Maybe, he could do something. He was responsible for the book, anyway. Ghost was the one that found the chamber and released the knowledge to the world. If that knowledge was in the wrong hooves, then it was his responsibility to get it back.

"Flare, the Princess taught you to send letters to her, right?" Ghost asked, with renewed vigor.

"Yeah," Flare said. "But I'm not very good at it."

"Confidence, Flare," Ghost said, with a smirk. He quickly made a note. "Send this, please."

Flare closed his eyes and inhaled. When he exhaled, a small blue ball of flame formed. Ghost threw his note into the flame where it consumed the note and then dissipated.

"Not done yet, Flare," Ghost said picking up the fox.

"What are we doing?"

Ghost glared out into the night. "We're getting the book back."

* * *

End part 2.


	3. Scribes Are Weird Part 3

Ponyville was silent. The dark enveloped the small town, pushing ponies into their homes and beds. But while most ponies where safe from the night in their beds or houses, one unicorn pony walked the darkness of the back allies. He carried himself with grace, his smirk shining through the dark. His grey eyes were alight with mirth, yet they held a subtle darkness. A long vertical scar ran down his neck. His dark brown mane was cut into a Mohawk and he didn't have a tail, presumably having lost it. His coat was the same dark brown as his mane. He wore a black saddle bag with a crossed wand and sword icon, the same as his Cutie Mark. The saddle bag sported a sheathed sword.

"Its way too easy being me," he said, patting his saddle bag. His voice was deep and was distinctly a Trotingham accent.

The stallion's ear twitched. Jumping forward, the spot he had been standing in was assaulted by a magic net.

"Ah, what's this?" the mysterious stallion said, maintaining a cocky attitude. "I figured I had more time before the chase began."

"No chase," Ghost said, stepping into the light. He glared at the pony, his glasses glinting in the moonlight. Flare stood on his back, barring his teeth and growling.

"Just a colt trying to look cool," the stallion said dismissively. He waved his hoof in a shooing gesture. "Run along now, past your bed time."

"Normally, I would tell you that the book you stole is dangerous and that you're playing with fire." Ghost continued to glare, ignoring the dismissive attitude of the thief. "But I know who you are and words won't work here, so why waste them."

"Oh, so you think you know me?" the thief said, with a smirk. "And who pray-tell am I?"

"Conceited aren't we," Ghost said, his glare hardening. "Very well, you're Phantom the Spell Thief, born Spell Cutter, you were a formal royal guard before being dishonorably discharged for killing your opponent in a practice magic duel. You evaded capture and have since racked up multiple offences, the most grievous being the crime of stealing other unicorns' magic talent."

Phantom just smiled as Ghost listed off his offenses. "Ah, good times. You've studied my work well."

"I was the one that wrote your wanted poster," Ghost said.

"Oh." Phantom smirked. "Can I request that 'steal' be changed to 'barrowed without intent to return'? It has a certain ring to it, don't you think?"

Ghost shook his head. "Doesn't matter what I think. Just give me the Rune Guide."

Phantom let out a hearty laugh. "And who are you to demand this of me?"

"Just a scribe," Ghost said, standing his ground. "But that book is mine. I'll try civility one more time. Please, give me the book."

Phantom laughed again. He looked at Ghost with a manic smile. "What drives you to do this?" he asked. "Is it bravery, or stupidity?"

_A little of both, I guess._ Ghost thought. Truth be told, Ghost was terrified. Phantom was a stallion that you did not want to meet in a dark alley, especially problematic since that was exactly what he was doing. Still, through all the fear, one thought kept ringing in his head. _I have to get the book back._

Ghost didn't speak. He stood his ground, glaring at Phantom.

"Not so talkative now?" Phantom frowned, as he shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Such a shame. I was curious, but now I guess I'll never know." His horn glowed red, a fire ball forming. "_Because tonight you die!"_

The fire ball flew at Ghost, its heat scorching the sides of the alleyway.

"Ghost, watch out!" Flare cried, as he jumped in front of him. As the fire ball hit him, Flare summoned his own fire and concentrated on controlling it. The flames dissipated, leaving a slightly panting Flare in its wake.

"Oh, how interesting, well, try this!" Phantom's horn glowed again and he stamped his hoof. Spires of rock jutted out of the ground, heading right for the duo.

Ghost grabbed Flare in his teeth and jumped back. He ran, as Phantom gave chase.

"You know you shouldn't start fights you can't finish," Phantom called, as he chased after him.

_Great idea, Ghost. Confront an extremely powerful mage in a cramped alley. You're sure to win. _Ghost thought with sarcasm. He stopped berating himself in favor of finding a way to survive. _I need to lead him out into the open._

Ghost kept running, dodging elemental attacks as Phantom tried to hit him.

"I quite like this game of tag," Phantom said, with a maniacal laugh.

Ghost spotted the opening to the alley and poured on the speed. Ghost jumped. When he hit the ground, he rolled, simultaneously pulling a sheet of paper out his bag, folding it into a paper plane and chucking it at Phantom.

The plane hit the ground in front of Phantom, who stopped with a raised brow.

"Was that supposed to do—?"

The plane exploded, charring the sides of the alley. The blast wasn't meant to be fatal, but it would defiantly hurt.

Ghost set down Flare and panted.

"Did you get him?" Flare asked.

The smoke from the explosion started to thin, showing Ghost something he was less than fond of.

"Foxtrot," he hissed, as Phantom stood in the alleyway, perfectly fine.

"Admittedly unexpected," Phantom said, dispelling the magic shield. "But ultimately, just annoying."

"Flare, Run!" Ghost shouted, as he and Flare took off in the direction of town square.

"More tag?" Phantom said, giving chase. "Beginning to not like this game."

It seemed Phantom had decided to give Ghost a taste of his own medicine, as Ghost and Flare had to dodge explosions at every turn. It was clear that Phantom was just playing with them, like a cat plays with a mouse. This just served to tick Ghost off.

Ghost was knocked off his feet as an explosion went off to his right.

"Ghost!" Flare cried, as he ran to him.

"I'm fine. Keep running!" Ghost yelled, as he jumped up. The blast had only clipped him giving him a small burn, but ruining the clasp of his saddle bag. As the two kept running, Ghost tried to keep the paper from spilling out of his bag.

Ghost suddenly stopped as a wall of rock emerged in front of them. Turning around, he saw Phantom walking towards them looking bored.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," he said, with a fake sigh, "but now the game is over."

Ghost growled. "Flare, I want you to run."

Flare tried to protest. "I'm not gonna leave—"

"Flare," Ghost said, his voice lowering as he glared at Phantom. "If you ever listen to me, now would be the time. I'm not going to let him kill you. When I say so, run."

Flare's eyes started to water. "Ghost…" Flare nodded.

"Such a touching moment," Phantom sarcastically said with a frown. "To bad you can't stop me."

"Now!" Ghost called, launching two paper planes at him.

The blast startled Phantom. Flare bolted past him, but stopped when he heard something.

Before he could register it, something plowed into Ghost side, knocking him to the ground, and pinning him face down in the dirt.

"I knew you had something planed," a familiar voice said.

"Rainbow Dash!" Ghost exclaimed with wide eyes. Looking forward, he could see Twilight and the rest of her friends standing behind Phantom.

"What's going on, Ghost," Twilight asked.

Phantom raised a brow then smirked. "Well, it would appear our game has been interrupted." His horn glowed.

"Twilight, he's got the Rune Guide," Ghost yelled.

"Your life is spared, be grateful," Phantom said, the glow from his horn getting brighter.

_He's teleporting._ Ghost thought in panic. "Get off me, you stupid Feather-head," Ghost said, angry.

"What did you just call me?" Rainbow said, with a fierce glare.

"Bye," Phantom said with a laugh.

_He's getting away. He's getting away and it's my fault. _In a fit of desperation, Ghost jumped up, knocking Rainbow Dash off and charging at Phantom, screaming.

"Wha—"

In a bright flash, both Ghost and Phantom were gone. The only trace of them being the scorch mark on the ground.

"Ghost…" Flare said wide-eyed. "Ghost," he said, louder. "Ghost!" he yelled in a panic. Flare started to circle the scorch mark. "Ghost! Where are you!"

Turning to the group of mares, Flare started crying. "We have to find him!" he said, hysterically. "Ghost can't fight him! Phantom will kill him! We have to find him!"

As the young fox descended into hysterics, Twilight nodded to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy scooped up Flare and held him close. "Shh," she whispered in his ear. "It will be alright. We'll find Ghost. Shh." Fluttershy rubbed his back as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"I couldn't help him," Flare sobbed. "When he needed it, I couldn't help him."

Twilight examined the scorch mark.

"Think you can find them, Twilight?" Rarity asked, beside her.

Twilight tried to trace their location with some magic, but soon stopped.

"It's no good." She sighed. "Whoever this Phantom guy is, he covered his magic trail."

"What was that book-brain even doing out here?" Rainbow Dash asked, fairly irritated.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin.

_Twilight, he's got the Rune Guide._

Twilight gasped. "He was trying to stop Phantom from taking the Rune Guide."

"What's the Rune Guide," Applejack asked with a raised brow.

Twilight shook her head. "No time to explain." She looked around the square. "We have to find them?"

"How?" Rarity asked.

Twilight scanned the square. She noticed there were scattered papers around. _Must have fallen out of Ghost's bag._ Her eyes widened, as she got an idea.

Quickly gathering all the papers, she went over to Flare and Fluttershy. The fox had calmed down considerably, but was still in tears.

_Shows just how young he is._ Twilight thought, sadly.

"Flare," she said, softly.

"Yeah?" Flare asked, wiping away tears.

"How did Ghost know Phantom had the Rune Guide?"

Flare sniffed. "The princess told us it was stolen and Ghost started tracking it with a rune."

Twilight held up a glowing sheet of paper. "Like this one?"

Flare nodded. "He put it over a map and it showed him where it was."

Twilight quickly scanned the paper and found a map of Ponyville and the surrounding area.

Twilight smiled. "We're in luck, girls. Ghost left us all we need to track him down."

Twilight laid the map out and put the rune over it. She would have been impressed by how it worked, if she wasn't racing against time. Scanning the map, she found their location.

"Whitetail Woods," she said, packing up the map. "That's where they are."

"Then we better hurry, for Ghostwriter's sake," Rarity said, holding up a discarded wanted poster of Phantom the Spell Thief. The girls could only gulp, as they noticed a word printed on it.

Murder.

* * *

The normal quiet of Whitetail wood was broken by scuffling. The same flash that abducted Ghost, appeared, dropping Ghost and Phantom into the forest. Ghost had tackled Phantom mid teleport, so when they reappeared, Ghost and Phantom hit the ground. Phantom kicked Ghost away. Ghost jumped to his hooves, glaring at Phantom.

Phantom returned the glare, his composure broken. "You stupid colt!" he growled. "You threw off my spell!"

"I'm not going to let you take that book," Ghost growled.

Phantom scoffed. "I was going to let you live, but I don't think you deserve that mercy, now." His horn began to glow.

Ghost growled. _I can't let him have that book._

"A duel," Ghost said.

Phantom raised a brow and stopped his spell. "What?"

"I challenge you to a magic duel," Ghost said, looking at Phantom with determination.

Phantom laughed. "Oh, that's rich." Phantom began to circle Ghost. Ghost started to mirror his actions. "You named all of my crimes, you know what I've done and yet you still challenge me to a duel. Now I know you're stupid."

"Maybe," Ghost said, not taking his eyes off his opponent. "But it doesn't matter. If I win, I get my book back."

"And what do I get?" Phantom asked, with a smirk.

"My life," Ghost said.

Phantom laughed. "Not much of a prize, but I like your spirit." Phantom lowered his head, as the maniacal smile returned. "But this means you're in my way, and I cut down things in my way."

The two stopped circling and began a stare down. The two froze, waiting for some unknown signal to start. It was silent in the woods. The slightest sound could set them off. A leaf crunched.

The two jumped back, Ghost chucking an explosive plane and Phantom, a fire ball. The two attacks met, exploding.

Ghost prepared two more planes, before having to jump to avoid the rock spires coming towards him. However he was not completely successful as one spire clipped his side. The attack startled him and he was unable to land right. He hit the ground, jumping up quickly. He quickly put up a shield rune, as magic lighting assaulted it. When the lightning stopped, Ghost threw a plane at Phantom. This one didn't explode, however, but unleashed a bright flash. Ghost ducked behind a tree.

"Are we playing hide and seek now?" Phantom called, laughing.

Ghost panted, as he put his back against the tree. He winced as he felt his side. The rock spire had only clipped him, so it was only a scratch, but it was a large scratch. Phantom outmatched him. Of that, there was no question. It didn't help that Ghost would eventually run out of runes. If Ghost was going to have any chance, he needed to play smart. Ghost smirked, a plan already forming.

Ghost dashed out from the tree. Phantom launched a fire ball at him. Ghost dodged and kept running. Phantom gave chase, launching more fire balls at him. Ghost dodged again and dived behind another tree.

Phantom laughed. "You think a tree will stop me?" Phantom's horn sent out a wave. The energy sliced through the tree, toppling it. When it fell, Phantom saw Ghost on the other side, perfectly fine. Ghost smirked before disappearing.

Phantom didn't have time to wonder about it, as he suddenly found himself surrounded by 10 paper planes. The planes exploded simultaneously.

Ghost stood behind him, begging that the explosion knocked him out. The smoke cleared as Phantom laughed. "Nice trick." Phantom had taken the explosion. It showed in the fact that his coat and mane were singed. The problem, was that he was very resilient.

"Foxtrot!" Ghost hissed.

"Going to have to do better than that," Phantom said, brushing off his left shoulder.

Ghost jumped back, barely dodging the fire that had been summoned next his hooves. He activated a decoy rune, the one he had fooled Phantom with before. The two Ghost charged Phantom from both sides.

Phantom didn't even bat an eyelash. Why bother trying to find the real one? Phantom let loose a radial blast knocking the real Ghost away.

Before Ghost could get back up, Phantom's sword was poised to strike. Phantom wore a sadistic smirk as his magic held the blade.

Ghost growled while glaring at the spell thief. "Blades are cheating."

Phantom laughed. "Wake up, Colt. You should know by now," His smile widened. "I don't play fair."

Ghost closed his eyes, waiting for the strike.

Before Phantom could spill his blood, the sword was knocked away by a rock, followed by a burst of magic lightning. Phantom jumped back.

Ghost opened his eyes to see Flare running at him. Behind him stood the girls. Twilight ran over and tried to help him up.

Twilight helped him up, but Ghost pushed her away. "Are you insane?" he cried. "Phantom will have no qualms about killing you."

"Doesn't matter," Twilight said, glaring at Phantom. "I'm not going to let you die when I can do something about it."

"You helped my orchard," Applejack said, walking to Ghost left. "Figured I should return the favor."

"Good heavens, Ghostwriter," Rarity said, standing next to Applejack. "When this is done, I'll need to fix up your cloak."

Pinkie skipped to Twilight's right. "I haven't thrown your party, yet. I don't want you to die before you see it, Ghostie."

Ghost didn't have time to ponder the nickname, as he spotted Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the air above him.

"I haven't gotten you back for that Feather-head comment," Rainbow said, pointing at him. "You can't die yet, Book-brain."

"Beatrix has really taken a shine to you," Fluttershy said, as said bat landed on Ghost head. "She'd be heartbroken if you were gone." Fluttershy turned away. "And… uhm… I wouldn't be too happy either…."

Phantom rolled his eyes. "As touching as this display is, you've broken the rules."

"You broke the rules first," Twilight yelled. "It's only fair Ghost gets some back up."

Phantom paced in front of him. "So I went from fighting a stupid colt, to him, six fillies, a rat with wings, and a fox."

"She's a bat!" Flare yelled, as Beatrix squeaked. The two paused and looked at each other.

Phantom stopped pacing. He looked at Ghost and Twilight. "It would appear I'm out numbered." He smirked as his horn glowed. Six identical copies appeared next to him. "Oh, no I'm not."

"They're not illusions!" Ghost yelled, warning the group. "He stole Multiforce the copier's magic. Those clones are solid."

Twilight glared harder at Phantom.

"Still, I think we could even the odds more," One of the Phantom clones said.

"I like the way you think," Phantom said, his horn aglow once more.

Rainbow Dash and one of the copies disappeared.

The group gasped.

"So it's 'divide and concur'," Ghost growled.

Phantom merely smirked, as one by one the group disappeared.

There was only one thought going through Ghost head, as he was forcefully warped. _Please don't let them die because of me._

* * *

Applejack looked at the Phantom copy with a fierce glare. She pulled out her lasso.

Phantom laughed. "I'm a master of magic, and you expect to fight me with a lasso?"

"You don't know who yer dealin with, ya dirty sidewinder," Applejack said, through the lasso.

Phantom wasted no time firing off a fire spell. Applejack dodged. Phantom jumped back, firing off more fire spells. Applejack weaved through the attacks, silently thanking her rodeo training. She charged straight at Phantom. She readied her lasso. Phantom fired his slicing wave in a vertical pattern. Applejack dodged to her left. Turning, she saw the wave slice through a tree. She smirked. She dodged more spells, as she ran to her right. Applejack finally stopped, positioning herself between Phantom and a large tree.

"That yer best?" she taunted, starting her charge again.

Phantom growled. He fired off more spells. Applejack, same as before, dodged them. Phantom fired his slicing wave again, this time horizontally. Applejack smirked. Just what she wanted. Apple jack jumped the wave, continuing her charge. She jumped over a surprised Phantom. Twisting in the air, she threw her lasso and snagged a branch, giving it a hard tug. She landed.

Phantom turned around, a glare on his face. "You're just showing off."

Applejack smirked and stepped to her left. "Timber."

"What?"

Before Phantom's question could be answered, he heard the snapping of tree limbs. Turning, he let out a scream as the tree trunk fell on him. Applejack winced. She spotted Phantom's leg sticking out, but it soon wisped out of existence.

"Well, glad that's over," she said, with a sigh.

Her ears could pick up the sounds of explosions in a different area of the forest. Her face hardened and she ran to help.

* * *

Phantom was annoyed. He could already tell one of his copies had been disposed of. To make matters worse, the pink pony he was fighting just wouldn't sit still.

"Why!" He fired a lightning bolt. She dodged. "Won't!" He threw a big rock at her. She dodged. "You!" He let loose a fire ball. She ducked under it. "Stay!" He launched a slicing wave at her. She danced around it. "Still!" he yelled.

Pinkie giggled. "You're not very good at this."

Phantom screamed, launching another bolt of lightning. "I have stolen the powers of twenty powerful unicorns."

"You're not very nice, either," she said, as she tilted her head and let the bolt pass.

Phantom let loose a barrage of magic attacks.

"Missed me!" Pinkie said, ducking behind a tree.

She poked her head out. Phantom fired a fire ball.

"So close," she said, ducking back, then appearing behind another tree.

Phantom kept trying to hit Pinkie.

"So you're a meanie," Pinkie said, dodging a fire ball. "And you steal things," She ducked a slicing wave. "But the worst thing."

She suddenly appeared in Phantom's face. She glared at him. "You tried to kill Ghost and make him break his Pinkie Promise." Her voice was deep and serious.

Phantom tried to use a radial blast but Pinkie disappeared. Phantom looked around with a growl. Scanning the forest, he raised a brow at the brightly decorated box. Walking over to the box, he noticed a card saying 'Open Me'. Phantom frowned and began to charge a spell while putting his hoof on the lid. As soon as he lifted the lid, Pinkie popped out, upper-cutting him.

"Shoryuken!" she yelled, knocking him into the air. Landing, she put her hoofs together. A glowing ball appeared.

"Hadouken!" she yelled, throwing it at the air-born Phantom.

The energy collided with him sending him flying into a tree. As he slumped, his body disappeared.

Pinkie smiled, skipping off while humming a song.

* * *

Applejack came upon Rarity's battle with a Phantom clone. While it didn't look like Rarity was doing a bad job, she didn't look to good, either. Her coat looked a little dirty. It was clear that all Rarity could do was dodge.

Phantom laughed. "And you came here to save that stupid colt? You can't even fight."

"You brute," Rarity said with a glare. "Manners are not your forte, are they?"

"Sorry, I missed that class," Phantom said, mocking her.

Phantom fired a lightning bolt. Rarity dodged it, but her mane wasn't so lucky.

She gasped as she looked at the singed edges of her mane. She glared fiercely at Phantom. "OH. IT. IS. ON."

Phantom drew his sword. "I'm bored now."

Phantom charged forward. Rarity stood her ground.

Applejack's eyes widened. She franticly searched for a way to help. Her eyes spotted a large stick on the ground.

"It'll have to do." She tossed the stick into the air, turned and bucked it. "Rarity!" she called.

Applejack had intended for the stick to hit Phantom, but Rarity surprised her. Grabbing the stick with her magic, she blocked the sword, then twisted, knocking the blade away. She struck Phantom twice, before busting it over his head. Twirling the remainder around her, she launched it full speed into Phantoms chest, sending him flying. Phantom stayed down, the clone dispersing.

Applejack's jaw dropped.

"That was so cool, Rarity," Pinkie said, skipping out of the brush.

"What was that?" Applejack asked, with shock.

"Oh," Rarity said, trying to fix her hair. "I took Fencing as an extracurricular in school. I became rather good, if I do say so myself."

* * *

Fluttershy cowered, as explosions went off around her. Phantom was just torturing the poor Pegasus.

"Please, stop," she begged.

Phantom laughed. "Oh no, this is too much fun." He stopped as frown came to his face. "They've gotten three of them?" he said, in disbelief. He growled. "I better finish up here."

Phantom drew his sword and started walking towards the quaking Fluttershy.

"Please," she begged.

"I'm not one for mercy." Phantom raised the blade with a maniacal smile on his face. "Night."

Fluttershy screamed. The blade never came.

She opened her eyes to see that Phantom was engulfed by a giant shadow, a look of shock on his face.

* * *

Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity heard the scream and went running. What they saw, was Fluttershy, a bear, and a dissipating Phantom clone.

Fluttershy was looking over a cut on the bear's arm.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," she said as she bandaged up the arm. "No need for you to get hurt on my behalf."

The bear grunted.

"Well, I do appreciate the help."

"Fluttershy," Rarity said with a sigh. "Thank Celestia, you're okay."

Fluttershy turned to the group. "Mr. Bear heard what was going on and decided to help."

The group heard an explosion.

"No time to celebrate," Applejack said, shaking her head. "Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Ghost are still fighting that guy."

* * *

Rainbow Dash smirked as she dodged Phantom's fire ball. Though the trees cut down on how fast she could fly, even her cruising speed was more than enough. Rainbow decided that rather than take on Phantom directly, she would use guerilla tactics. She ducked and weaved behind trees, striking Phantom when he couldn't track her. Rainbow laughed as Phantom cursed at missing her again.

She'd found that although Phantom tried to act cool-headed, he had a very short fuse. Rainbow had no trouble sending him into a fit.

"Time for a finisher," she said, smirking. "This is going to be so cool."

Coming out of cover, she charged straight at the enraged Phantom.

"Got you!" Phantom yelled, firing his slicing wave.

"Too slow," Rainbow said, as she shifted her body, the wave passing her by. She continued her charge and punched him holding his head and grinding it into the ground. Using him as a spring board, she jumped forward and began flying around him. The spinning produced a tornado, catching Phantom. Once he was in the wind storm, Rainbow rocketed straight up, Phantom being tossed up with her. Rainbow, meanwhile, was high in the air. She stopped her wings and closed her eyes, as she fell back. Rainbow took a deep and smirked. Her eyes snapped open. She flew straight down, gaining speed. She intercepted Phantom just as her Sonic Rainboom went off. Grabbing him, she flew straight at the ground, planning to slam Phantom into the forest floor. The two hit the ground, putting a crater in it 5 foot deep. Rainbow shook her head from the bottom of the giant crater. While she was resilient, that still hurt. She looked towards Phantom. The clone was down for the count. Rainbow climbed out of the crater as the clone disappeared. Applejack helped her out. The rest stood behind her concerned.

"You okay there, RD," Applejack asked, looking at the crater Dash had created.

"Yeah," Rainbow said, shaking her head again. "Yeah, I'm fine. As cool as that was, don't think I wanna do that again."

Rainbow figured the only reason she hadn't brained herself on the ground was that Phantom had 'broke' her fall.

"Come on, Rainbow," Rarity said, turning to the sounds of another battle ground. "The night is not over yet."

* * *

Ghost panted as he hid behind a tree. He had been able to get away from Phantom using another flash rune. Ghost tried to settle his heart. He checked his bag. He was running low on runes. Soon, he wouldn't be able to fight back.

"Gotta play smart," he mumbled.

His ears twitched. He could hear something coming. Ghost held a blast rune. The sounds were distinctly hoof steps. Ghost held his breath as the sounds came closer. Ghost jumped, out ready to throw the blast rune. He stopped when he noticed a lavender unicorn sparking her magic.

Ghost sighed as he lowered the rune. "Twilight, your okay." Ghost looked around, eyes narrowed. "Where's the Phantom clone."

"I beat him," Twilight said, also scanning the forest.

Ghost raised a brow. "You beat him?" His eyes narrowed. "How do I know you're the real Twilight."

"You got your horn stuck in the library's floor boards," Twilight said with a grin.

Ghost's shoulders slumped. "Good enough for me." His eyes widened. "Wait, you actually beat him? My blast runes couldn't even scratch the guy. How'd you do it?"

"A rebound spell," Twilight said, her eyes still scanning the forest. "It's a fairly simple spell but it has its uses."

Ghost smirked. Even if the clone spell limited Phantom's powers, he was still really strong. "No wonder your Princess Celestia's protégé."

Twilight smirked.

Ghost sighed. "So now we have to deal with the rest of the clones."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't think so. When I was fighting him, he said something about all his other clones getting beat. I think the girls beat them all."

Ghost sighed with relief. _Good, no pony is dead because of me._

" Alright," he said, standing straight. "So with six down that just leaves"

"Me!" Phantom said, emerging from the darkness.

Ghost and Twilight crouched, ready for anything.

"Your little group is really making my blood boil," Phantom said, circling them. "And that," he said, shaking his head. "Just will not do."

Phantom's horn glowed. The darkness enclosed on the two. Phantom disappeared. Ghost looked around but couldn't see anything but Twilight next to him.

"A darkness spell," Twilight hissed. "He's limiting how far we can see."

"That's really not good." Ghost gulped, fear gripping his chest.

"I just want to play with you." Phantom's voice pieced the darkness, seeming to come from everywhere.

The two unicorns waited. The forest was deathly silent. The two stood their ground, muscles tense, ready to fight should the die be cast.

"He's not doing anything," Twilight whispered. "I can't counter this. He knows it. Why is he just waiting?"

Ghost stamped his hoof. "That's sick!" he growled. "He wants to watch us squirm."

Ghost clenched his teeth. "Twilight, I'm sorry that you're in this. I'm in over my head and I dragged you girls into this." Ghost glared out into the darkness. "It was stupid for me to try this. You shouldn't have come after me."

"It doesn't matter now, Ghost," Twilight said, softly. "I would have done this for any of my friends. We'll make it out. Just have a little hope."

Ghost nodded. "Wait," he said, his eyes wide. "Friends?"

Before Twilight could answer, the two heard a squeak. Beatrix lowered, carrying Flare.

"Ghost!" Flare cried landing on Ghost back and jumping to the ground.

"Why did he let Flare and Beatrix get to us?" Twilight asked.

"He probably thinks it won't do us any good," Ghost said. He put a hoof to his chin. "Twilight, can he hear us?"

"He has to stay at a certain distance for this to work. If we whisper, he shouldn't hear us," Twilight said, looking out into the darkness.

"How long will it take you to break this?" Ghost asked in a whisper.

" A minute, tops," she answered.

Ghost took stock of his runes. He still had some shield runes left.

"Alright I think I have an idea, but." Ghost sighed, "It's a bit of a long shot." Ghost shook his head. "You have no reason to trust me. I haven't exactly proven to be intelligent with this sort of thing."

Twilight frowned. "At this point some plan is better than no plan."

"True," Ghost said with a smirk. "Alright I want you to try and break the spell. One of two things will happen. He'll break it and charge us, or launch attacks to try and stop you. I can work with either one. I'll use these shield runes to cover you. They should give you enough time. If not…"

"If not, what?" Twilight asked with a frown.

Ghost shook his head. "Doesn't matter. He won't get to you. I promise." Ghost turned to Flare. "Okay it's an illusion spell, right? That means it's only working on us so Beatrix and Flare can see, right?"

Twilight nodded. "Phantom would have to break the spell and cast it again."

"Good. Flare, Beatrix, I need you to spot for me," Ghost said. "Tell me what's coming."

The two beasts nodded.

"Alright, let's start." Ghost turned to Twilight. "Whatever you do, do not stop trying to break this, okay?"

Twilight nodded and began sparking her magic.

Ghost turned to the darkness.

"Left!" Flare yelled.

Ghost jump and activated the shield, blocking fire spell. The shield took the brunt of the attack. Luckily, Ghost could use a shield rune several times.

"Option one, it is," he hissed.

Flare and Beatrix kept spotting attacks and Ghost kept blocking.

The darkness around them started to crack, Twilight's horn glowing bright pink. Ghost panted as he watched more cracks appear in the dark bubble surrounding it.

Ghost blocked a lightning bolt just as the bubble shattered, revealing the forest.

Phantom growled. "Impressive."

Ghost charged forward. "It's over Phantom!"

"Ghost, wait!" Twilight called, trying to get him to stop.

"It's over alright!" Phantom yelled as he charged a spell. "For you!"

Twilight couldn't move. She could barely think. Her hooves were frozen in place, her eyes wide, her breath hitched. All she could do was watch, as Phantom launched a fire ball at the charging Ghostwriter. It hit. Ghost went down, a scream escaping his throat. His coat was singed, his cloak in tatters, his eyes closed. He didn't get back up, didn't move, didn't breath. He was dead.

Phantom let out a monstrous laugh. "That stupid colt!"

Twilight barely noticed her friends appear beside her. Their reactions were the same as hers.

Phantom turned to the group. "Now to finish you off," he said as he summoned a giant fireball, laughing.

Twilight would have put up a shield, but something stopped her. The fire ball had no magic in it.

The rest of the girls prepared to scatter until twilight held up a hoof.

"Girls, something's not right," Twilight said frowning. "That fire ball isn't real."

"Looks plenty real to me," Rainbow Dash said.

"No, Twilight is right," Rarity said, shaking her head. "There is no magic in it."

During the conversation, Phantom just kept laughing. Twilight looked at the group. Everyone was there, except…

"Where's Flare?" she wondered aloud.

Suddenly the fireball wavered away, along with Ghost's body. Instead, Ghost appeared standing next to a cackling Phantom. Flare sat on his back, eyes closed.

"Ghost, you're okay?" Twilight asked with wide eyes filled with disbelief.

"I was always okay," Ghost said with a smirk. "As soon as you cracked the spell, I had Flare put up an illusion." Ghost sighed. "Though, I'm sorry that it had to be gruesome."

"But they saw it too," Twilight said pointing to her friends.

Ghost smiled. "Flare's illusions work differently than a spell based one. It's applied over a large area, initially. Then, when something has been under its effect long enough, he can narrow and concentrate its effect on specified targets." Ghost turned to Phantom, who was still laughing, with a glare. "Right now, he thinks he's concurred Equestria."

"So what's next?" Applejack asked, looking at her friends.

"Well, first things first," Ghost said, walking to phantoms side. Ghost opened Phantoms saddle bag before reaching in and pulling out a book. The book had an intricate rune on its red leather cover. Ghost smirked before putting the book into his own saddle bag. He reached back into Phantom's bag, frowning when he pulled out a piece of paper.

"Just as I thought," Ghost growled.

"What's with the paper?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised brow.

"This is a leach rune," Ghost said, showing the rune to the group. "The way I use it, is as an extra stock of magic energy. I let it fill with magic and then once it's full, I deactivate it and then I can activate it again to release the energy. However…" Ghost activated the rune and slapped it on Phantom's back. Phantom screamed, the rune releasing a bright blue glow. "If applied directly to a magic source," Ghost yelled over Phantom's scream. "It takes all of the magic in that source." Phantom dropped to the ground groan. Ghost walked in front of him. "All of it. Flare, drop the illusion." Flare opened his eyes and slumped on Ghost back, panting, the illusion clearly exhausting him. "You did well, Flare," Ghost said smiling at his little fox brother. Ghost turned to Fluttershy, who still had tears in her eyes from what she had seen, but was recovering. "Miss Fluttershy, could you take Flare for a moment?"

Fluttershy nodded and took Flare. Flare laid down on her back and slept.

Ghost turned back to Phantom. Phantom tried to stand, but fell to the ground. "Don't bother getting up," Ghost said, glaring. "You should know you won't be able to walk for days, after all, you've used this rune on plenty of other unicorns." Ghost kicked Phantom's face, his glare hardening. "You used it to steal their magic, their talent, their way of living." Ghost gave him another kick. "Now their fate is yours. For someone so obsessed with magic, how does it feel to lose it all?"

Phantom growled.

"All your power is now contained in this simple piece of paper." Ghost knelt in front of the disabled thief. "I could activate it again and obtain all your power." Ghost frowned. "But that would make me no better than you." Ghost shook his head, his face adopting a smirk. "No, I have a better idea. One that is a fate worse than death for you." Ghost stood back up and walked away, turning around. "It's kinnda hard to imagine, isn't it? That the power of twenty one unicorns is contained within this flimsy piece of paper." Ghost smirked, ripping the paper in half. "Oops."

"No!" Phantom yelled. "No!"

"There goes all your power. The magic you stole could never be returned, so it will return to the world. All your power is gone, Phantom. You can't even do levitation now," Ghost said. "Oh, one more thing…" Ghost kicked him once more, knocking him out. "That was for calling me a stupid colt!"

Ghost sighed, before dropping to the ground. "Foxtrot, I'm tired." Ghost turned to the group. "Anypony got any rope?"

Applejack smirked, pulling out her lasso and tying Phantom up, while the rest of the group went over to help Ghost up.

Twilight helped Ghost up and steadied him.

"Are you all right, Ghost?" Fluttershy asked, frowning with worry.

"Yeah," Ghost said with a deep breath. "I'm just tired."

"What do we do with him?" Rainbow asked, pointing to the subdued Phantom.

Ghost winced as he felt his sides. With the adrenalin wearing off, he was beginning to really feel the hits he had taken. Rarity and Fluttershy noticed. Rarity ripped Ghost cloak into a useable strip which Fluttershy wrapped around his side.

Ghost was left with just the collar and hood.

"Well, I'll need to make you a new one," Rarity said.

Ghost raised and eye before shaking his head. "Uh… thank you." Ghost looked over to Phantom's unconscious body. "I sent a note to the Princess before I left." Ghost looked at the sky, trying to gauge how much time had passed. "She should be in Ponyville soon with some royal guards."

The group nodded and made to walk back to town with Applejack dragging Phantom.

"Let's drag him through some poison joke," Rainbow said, smirking.

The group laughed, except for Ghost who didn't know what poison joke was.

* * *

The group was met by a large crowd in Ponyville's town square. Princess Celestia stood in the center with royal guard around her. The worried look on her face was soon replaced with relief as she spotted the group.

"Ghostwriter, Twilight Sparkle, I am glad you and your friends are okay," she said sighing.

Ghost looked at the ground with a guilty frown. "I'm sorry, Princess. They came after me. It was stupid to try and get the Rune Guide back myself." Ghost pulled the book out of his bag and handed it to the Princess. Celestia took the book and handed it to one of her guards.

"It is alright, Ghostwriter," Celestia said. "What is important is that you all are okay and the Rune Guide is safe." Celestia looked at Phantom, who was being handed off to guards by Applejack. "What of Phantom."

"All his power is gone," Ghost said, glaring at Phantom. "He was using a leach rune to steal magic. I turned it back on him, and then destroyed it, releasing the magic back to the world."

"I see," Celestia said with a nod. "Was there no way to return what he stole?"

Ghost shook his head sadly. "Not one I could see. I admit I might have acted a bit rash."

"Understood." A smile came to the Princess' face. "Rest, Ghostwriter. I will need you to be in Canterlot in a few days for the trial."

Ghost nodded.

Celestia turned to the rest. "You girls should rest, too. It is clear you all have been through a lot."

The group nodded.

Celestia smiled and turned to her guards. "Let us return to Canterlot."

Celestia and her guards left and slowly the crowd dissipated, leaving Ghostwriter and the girls.

Ghost frowned and put a hoof to his chin. "I don't get it."

"What," Twilight asked.

Ghost turned to the group. "I don't get it. Why come after me? Applejack said she owed me, but the rest of you barely know me. Even then, Applejack didn't owe me that much."

Fluttershy stepped up first. "Flare can't live without you," she said handing the sleeping Flare to him.

As Flare was passed to Ghost, he curled up into Ghost's chest. Beatrix squeaked before landing on Ghost's head.

"He thinks so highly of you," Fluttershy continued. "It wouldn't be fair to leave him alone in the world." Fluttershy turned her head away, avoiding eye contact. "And… uhm… you seem nice. I think you would be a good friend."

"I still have to pay you back for calling me Feather-head," Rainbow Dash said before rubbing her neck. "But, I gotta admit, you were pretty cool back there. I wouldn't mind having you around."

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Every pony in Ponyville is my friend and you're living here now, which makes you my friend and that's what friends do."

Rarity stepped up. "It was the right thing to do. You have style, Ghostwriter. It would be a shame to lose it."

"Rarity's sayin' she like's ya," Applejack said, laughing. "We're even now. You're a good guy, Ghost. Ya got your quirks, but I think you'll do fine here."

Twilight smiled. "Like I said, I would do that for any of my friends and I consider you a friend."

Ghost blushed. "But we barely know each other…"

Twilight giggled. "First lesson about Ponyville. You make friends quickly."

Ghost shook his head. "Maybe this is a fresh start," he said under his breath.

Twilight held out her hoof. "So what do you say, friends."

Ghost looked at the open hoof and slowly smiled. "Yeah," he said, shaking the hoof. "Friends."

"Oh! You know what this calls for?" Pinkie said excitedly, jumping up and down.

"It's a little late for a party, Pinkie," Rarity said, attempting to fix her hair again. "I need my beauty sleep."

Pinkie frowned. "How about tomorrow?"

Ghost nodded. "Sounds fun." He frowned. "But, uh, can we keep it small?"

The group laughed.

"Well, I guess it won't be boring here," Ghost said, putting Flare on his back.

"Second lesson about Ponyville," Twilight said, smirking. "There's never a dull moment."

* * *

_Excerpt from 'The Book of Hope'._

_I was there merely as an observer. Yet, it is what I observed that influenced me. These mares taught me something. It was not friendship, though they did expand my knowledge of it. No, what I was taught was something I had lost. Something that influences all sentient life, whether good or evil. What they taught me was hope._

* * *

End Scribes are Weird.


	4. AN

A.N: To any that enjoyed this story, I have reworked it and posted it under a new title. Magic Books, Runes, and a Little Hope.


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